


Rufescent

by Hajinnie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Developing Relationship, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Mild Blood, Mpreg, Non-Graphic Violence, Romance, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-07-23 03:41:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 51,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20001739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hajinnie/pseuds/Hajinnie
Summary: Even as a firstborn and despite his capability, Prince Kyungsoo of Vallis was never set to inherit the throne because he was born an omega. Thus, being sent off to marry Crown Prince Chanyeol of Zerura was an even bigger blow to him.However, Chanyeol doesn't want this marriage as much as Kyungsoo does and they conspire to give each other what they want, only to end up unraveling more secrets and having to face unresolved feelings.





	1. Scarlet

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Lovely Day Fest: **Prompt [#100]**
> 
> **
> 
> *This is a work of fiction and the characters here are not based on their real-life counterparts, they are merely an imaginative take on the person. 
> 
> *This fic is set in an alternate historical timeline which mimics that of the 1920s Western Europe. More details will be explained in the fic itself.
> 
> *A big thank you to Mod N for running the fest, Sya for beta-ing the fic for me and to everyone else reading this.
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/hajinnie)  
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/hajinnie)

In a world with over 1 billion humans, there are three subgroups of humans which are also further divided into the male and female genders.

The three subgroups of humans are Alphas, Betas, and Omegas who can be of any gender.

Alphas constituted around 15% of the human population and both Alpha males and females are remarked for their ability to impregnate anyone capable of so. Alpha males cannot conceive and give birth but Alpha females are able to do so.

Alphas are generally known for their strength, dominance, and assertiveness. Due to this stereotype, a majority of world leaders and people in influential positions happen to be Alphas.

Betas constituted the majority of humans, numbering around 75% of the total population. Beta males are able to impregnate any female but they are unable to conceive and give birth. Meanwhile, Beta females cannot impregnate unlike Alpha females but they are able to conceive and give birth.

Betas make up a large portion of regular salarymen and the labor working force of a country. Although a handful and notable number of Betas have risen to leadership positions, their numbers remain lower than Alphas despite constituting a larger portion of the population.

Omegas constituted only 10% of the human population, being the smallest minority among the three subgroups. Omegas are not able to impregnate anyone and both male and females omega are able to conceive and birth children.

Omegas are stereotyped as weak, subservient and passive. Because of this, Omegas have traditionally taken up housekeeping and caretaking roles within a community. Although uncommon, it is not unheard of for Omegas to rise to power and be in leadership positions.

It should be noted that although nature dictated a person to be classed either as an Alpha, Beta or Omega; it is completely biological and for reproduction purposes only. There is nothing except societal standards that dictates one’s behavior and character.

Alphas can be as nurturing as Omegas. Betas can be as powerful as Alphas and Omegas can also be as brave as Alphas.

In the northwestern region of the continent Teren, there existed several countries and forms of governments which were known throughout the world as superpowers due to their influence over the global economy, military strength, technological advancements and overall power over other states.

Two examples of these countries in the Northwestern region of Teren recognized as superpowers are Vallis and Zerura.

Vallis is a large country with a massive landmass and a diverse terrain ranging from ice-capped mountain ranges to desert plains. Vallis landmass spans almost half of the continent of Teren with a population of over 60 million people.

With historical roots dating back to almost two thousand years ago, Vallis practices a monarchy form of government with a representative democracy. The head of state is either a King or Queen, chosen from the royal family which has ruled Vallis since its founding two millennia ago.

Due to Vallis’ large population and abundance of resources, they had comfortably held onto the title of a superpower nation with the world’s strongest economy since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the last century.

The King or Queen holds absolute power over Vallis as head of state. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is elected by the people, who govern alongside a cabinet of senators also elected by the people.

In Vallis, both the head of state and government work alongside each other to govern the country. Although the Prime Minister holds executive power, the King of Queen possesses more power and the veto right to pass or overturn a legislature put into place by the Prime Minister and senate.

The current head of state of Vallis is Queen Joohyun, an alpha and the 66th reigning monarch of the country and mother to two children; Prince Kyungsoo and Crown Princess Seungwan. Despite Kyungsoo being older than Seungwan, he is behind her in the line to throne because he is an Omega and she is an Alpha like their mother.

Following age-old traditions, Alphas will always be further ahead in the line to the throne compared to Betas and Omegas- in that order, even if they are older or arguably much more deserving of it.

Meanwhile, Zerura is technically off the continent of Teren but due to its proximity and location, it is still considered as a nation within the Northwestern Teren region.

Zerura was historically founded less than five centuries ago. The country has a population of just under a million. It is an archipelago country, mainly situated on a large island, just off the West coast of Vallis, with whom it shares a sea border with.

Zerura practices a stratocracy monarchy form of government which supersedes a council of oligarchs, where the military and government are the same entity. The reigning King of Queen of Zerura elects a council of fifty people who hold executive power over the government, overseen by the King or Queen.

The King or Queen is the leader of the state and military. Meanwhile, the majority of the council of fifty oligarchs also consists of military leaders. Only a small portion of the oligarch council are those who are not affiliated with the military.

The current ruler of Zerura is King Junmyeon, an alpha. His only child and sole heir to the throne is Crown Prince Chanyeol, also an alpha.

And although Vallis and Zerura have long maintained bilateral ties with each other for years, the two countries have mostly kept to themselves until the promise made between Queen Joohyun and King Junmyeon to have the two neighboring countries joint in a political marriage to secure a strong alliance.

Aided by Zerura’s military and technological development and the rapid industrialization and booming economy of Vallis, an alliance of the two countries could tremendously shift the entire economic and political landscape of not only the region but the entire world.

The political marriage, in particular, had been promised between Crown Prince Chanyeol of Zerura and Prince Kyungsoo of Vallis. Or was it?

**

Since a young age, Kyungsoo was repeatedly drilled by his family, caretakers, governesses, and even the palace assistants that despite being as the firstborn child of the reigning Queen; he would never become the King because he was born an omega, which was definitely something he had no say nor had control over.

All the spouses of Vallis’ rulers had been alphas too but Kyungsoo’s father was an exception as he was a beta. Two alphas would almost always have alphas as children due to dominant alpha genes. Therefore, when Kyungsoo’s parents had married, it was unsure if their children would all turn out to be alphas.

Kyungsoo was too young at the time to know but his family had been extremely disappointed when he was born an omega, which is why Seungwan was quickly conceived through another father and born just a year later, to ensure that the throne would have an alpha heir.

Right after Seungwan was born, Kyungsoo’s father disappeared and was unheard of ever again, believed to have run away because he was ashamed of being unable to produce an alpha heir.

In the history of over 60 reigning monarchs that Vallis has had, all of them had been alphas and Kyungsoo was told that he wasn’t going to be an exception. After all, it had been that way for thousands of years and tradition wasn't going to bend over for someone like himself, Kyungsoo believed.

Despite being told countless of times for years that he didn’t need to do much and just wait until he was old enough to be married off to Crown Prince Chanyeol of Zerura, who was almost four years older than him, Kyungsoo could never sit still and be docile while he did nothing, even if that was what omegas was culturally expected to be.

Out of his own desire to serve and contribute to Vallis and its people, Kyungsoo entered the military academy at the age of eighteen, where he spent a year in training before becoming a fully-fledged soldier and was assigned to public defense and security.

It was normal for alphas in the royal family to join the military when they are of age to serve the country but as an omega, Kyungsoo wasn’t actually expected to do so.

Apart from being physically built smaller than alphas and betas and the ability to conceive and give birth, omegas weren’t very much different and Kyungsoo was not going to let that stop him.

Now, at twenty-two years old with four years of military experience and the rank of Corporal, which Kyungsoo had attained by himself and arguably the influence of being the Queen’s son. Kyungsoo honestly believed that he could change his fate and actually become a new standard for omegas.

In an effort to further solidify his independence, Kyungsoo now lived away from the palace in an official residence specifically designated for members of the royal family. Although he would have wished to get an apartment or townhouse for himself, he wasn’t allowed to break protocols and had to live in places the palace deemed “secure” for a royal such as himself.

Kyungsoo wasn’t allowed to live by himself either and had to be constantly accompanied by his guards/personal assistants. For the sake of convenience, the palace had appointed two soldiers whom he had trained with in the military academy, as his guards and personal assistants.

Kyungsoo’s appointed guards are Baekhyun, an alpha, and Yixing, a beta. Baekhyun is also a Corporal, whom Kyungsoo had met when they were assigned as roommates at the military academy. Yixing is a Sergeant and is slightly older than Baekhyun and Kyungsoo.

Alongside Baekhyun and Yixing; Kyungsoo had even served in several international and domestic peacekeeping missions, representing the country as a soldier, to further solidify that he was capable of becoming a leader despite not being born an alpha.

Kyungsoo was aware that it was several times harder for him to prove himself as “worthy” because he was an omega and they were already stereotyped as the “weaker human subgroup”.

Any mistake he made would not only affect him but also all other omegas who were trying hard to break free from society’s judgments, especially due to his influential position under the scrutiny of millions of people.

But Kyungsoo was actually a simple person despite how “try hard” he appeared to be. He didn’t actually desire fame, glory or to show that he was better than everyone else. All Kyungsoo wanted was for himself and for others to live out happy and peacefully, while also doing his part to contribute to society and meeting his full potential.

At six o'clock in the morning on a Monday in March, Kyungsoo was awoken by Yixing whose responsibility included waking Kyungsoo every morning at a designated time, which was if Kyungsoo didn’t wake up by himself first.

“Good morning, your highness,” Yixing greeted, pulling open the curtains covering the large glass bay windows in Kyungsoo’s room in his official residence, a mansion overlooking a river in an affluent part of the capital city of Verndina.

Being rather short-sighted, Kyungsoo had to reach around for his black-framed glasses on the nightstand beside his four-poster bed before he was finally able to take a look at the grandfather clock in his room, leaning against a wall on the opposite side of his bed.

“It’s a bit past six already,” Kyungsoo commented, running a hand through his black hair to flatten out any potential cowlicks he was sporting from sleeping.

“Indeed it is, I’ve been here for a few minutes now and it took you a while until you actually woke up,” Yixing added, already starting to take Kyungsoo’s blankets away to be folded, “Baekhyun is already downstairs helping the kitchen staff prepare us breakfast. It’s still early so we still have a bit of time. Parliament session doesn’t start until ten in the morning anyway.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo affirmed, getting out of bed and standing away from it so Yixing could fix up his bed, “I still want to be early and make a good impression though. It’s the first parliament session for this year’s term and everyone is going to be there for the officiating ceremony including my mom, sister, the Prime Minister, and all the Senators too. I need to show them that I am capable of one day being able to participate in the parliament not only as a guest but as a lawmaker too.”

“I understand, your Highness,” Yixing nodded, politely, “I have made arrangements for a car to pick us up from here at nine sharp. The trip to the Parliament house shall only take less than fifteen minutes by automobile. We’ll be there early and with ample time too.”

Kyungsoo sighed in relief, placing a hand to his mid-lower chest, “Thank you, Yixing. I hope we can be there on time too.”

“Don’t worry, your Highness,” Yixing assure, smiling, “I will never let you be late unless you ever wish to. It is my responsibility to do so.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo smiled back, hanging his head slightly, a bit nervous about that day already, “I can always count on you and Baekhyun.”

After a bath, Kyungsoo changed into his ceremonial royal uniform; a black ceremonial coat with silver buttons and insignias on his chest, shoulders, and cuffs to signify his rank as royalty and of the military.

Kyungsoo opted to keep wearing his glasses and combed his hair neatly before going down to the dining hall where Baekhyun and Yixing were already at.

Baekhyun and Yixing had their own ceremonial outfits to signify their rank as his personal guards but they were not dressed in it yet, only wearing the black pants and the white dress shirt they usually wore beneath the ceremonial outfits.

“You’re already dressed so fast,” Baekhyun commented, chewing on a slice of toasted bread at the dining table, “You’re going to get it dirty if you wear it so soon. You’re also lucky it’s only March. If it was summer, you’d be walking around drenched in sweat wearing that.”

Yixing looked up from the plate of food he was eating, overhearing Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s conversation.

“Well, I want to be prepared and I don’t want to be in a rush later on when it’s time to leave,” Kyungsoo responded, sitting at the head of the table with Baekhyun and Yixing at either side of him.

“Oh, we’ll have time for sure. You’re just being nervous,” Baekhyun mentioned, lightly pushing Kyungsoo on the shoulder.

Kyungsoo snickered a bit, shaking his head slightly at his best friend and assistant, “You may be right. I am indeed nervous. After all, I need to inform my mother of something important after she’s done with officiating and overseeing this year’s first parliament session.”

“There is nothing wrong with feeling that way, your Highness. It’s a normal human emotion,” Yixing assured, placing a comforting hand on the side of Kyungsoo’s arm.

“Yeah, you have us, don’t you?” Baekhyun too smiled, joining in on the solidarity, “We’ll always support you in any we can.”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo was indeed grateful to have such supportive people around him.

Deep down he knew that even if Baekhyun and Yixing weren’t his official appointed guards and assistant, that their friendship and loyalty were genuine. And that they would always have each other’s back no matter what.

At nine in the morning sharp, Kyungsoo, Baekhyun and Yixing left the official residence in the car that was sent by the palace to pick them up and send them to the parliament house in the administrative of Verndina city, the capital of Vallis.

The usage of steam-powered automobiles had peaked in recent years after it had been discovered over three decades ago. Although horse-drawn carriages still remained the norm in smaller towns, in the city they were slowly being overtaken by automobiles and various transportations such as trains and trams that had been built for the public’s convenience.

Electricity was available to every house in the country. Buildings were now being built taller and stronger with steel frames and not just stone. Cures to common illnesses were being discovered. The people were living healthier and longer.

The world was definitely evolving and Kyungsoo could see this happening right in front of his eyes, sitting beside the car window as it rolled down the streets headed down to the parliament building. However, it still felt like it would be a while until the societal boundaries of alphas, betas, and omegas could be overcome and forgotten as a thing of the past.

Kyungsoo arrived early at the parliament building and attempted to mingle around with a few of the senators he knew personally, while Baekhyun and Yixing stood out of the way but maintained watchful of Kyungsoo’s movements.

Kyungsoo was no mind reader but it wasn’t that hard, even for him, to tell that those he was talking to were only merely obliged to do so because he was a prince and the Queen’s son. And not because they felt as if Kyungsoo was a peer of theirs, assuming that he knew nothing of how things were supposed to work around there.

It made Kyungsoo squirm on the inside but he didn’t care. He would just have to prove himself that he was worthy of their respect and acknowledgment, standing his ground and being thick-skinned despite how they innately judged him as some omega prince who was supposed to just sit still and look pretty.

Kyungsoo eased up a little when his younger sister, Seungwan, arrived not long after him with her own guards and assistants, Sehun and Jongin. Sehun and Jongin were alphas like Seungwan too.

Seungwan was also dressed in her royal ceremonial coat, although she bore higher ranks and files on her shoulder and cuffs compared to Kyungsoo because she was higher on the rank of precedence for being the Crown Princess.

Kyungsoo was honestly proud of his sister’s confidence and achievements despite her young age. Not once had Kyungsoo had ever held contempt against her for being put as the heir to the throne instead of him, despite being more than a year older.

It was certainly not Seungwan’s fault that things were the way they were. She was merely born lucky and Kyungsoo was just lucky to be born.

Kyungsoo and Seungwan had a good relationship and when she arrived, he quickly walked up to her, flanked at each side by her tall alpha guards too.

“It’s good to see you, brother,” Seungwan gushed, pulling Kyungsoo into a hug.

“It’s good to see you too. How have you been? I haven’t gotten to hear from you since you left on a diplomatic mission abroad,” Kyungsoo returned the hug, pleased to see her again after some months.

While he was hugging Seungwan and looking over her shoulder, Kyungsoo managed to catch a glimpse of Jongin and Sehun exchanging rather questionable glances at each other. Somehow, Kyungsoo couldn’t help but come across the thought that they were an item and secretly dating each other even if he had no proof to back it up, knowing it would be rude to just plainly assume.

Kyungsoo was happy if they liked each other but he couldn’t help but feel jealous that he could never have what they had. And for some reasons he couldn’t quite explain either, Kyungsoo felt bad to even want they had too, feeling like he absolutely didn’t deserve to even think about it.

“It’s been great!” Seungwan replied, “The people I got to work with were warm and friendly. I just got back to Vallis yesterday evening actually. I haven’t been able to talk to mother yet. Have you heard from her recently too?”

Kyungsoo took a while to process his thoughts and feelings which were torn between wanting a loving partner whom he could rely on while also wanting to prove that he was completely capable of being strong and independent even by himself.

“Brother?” Seungwan asked again, seeing that he seemed to be staring off and daydreaming still.

“Oh, right,” Kyungsoo jerked, straightening his back when he finally snapped out of his thoughts and realized Seungwan had been calling out to him, “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What were you saying?”

Seungwan chuckled a little, “I was just asking if you’ve met or heard from our mother recently. I’m supposed to have a meeting with her today but I haven’t heard anything from her yet. I was wondering if you have heard from her.”

“Ah, I haven’t heard from her either,” Kyungsoo answered after a slight pause, “-but she’ll be here today for the parliament’s officiating ceremony. She didn’t arrange a meeting with me but I do plan on seeing her soon too.”

“Oh well,” Seungwan shrugged, “You’re right. I guess we’ll see her eventually. Wouldn’t it be easy if we were commoners who could just drop by to visit our own parent whenever we wished?” Seungwan joked.

Kyungsoo pretended to agree but deep down he believed that it should always be like that between a parent and a child, even if they were royalty and that wasn’t supposed to be the case for them. 

Then again, Kyungsoo had always been seen as a little strange and the “rebel” due to his beliefs and opinions that were not always seen as normal or orthodox by society. 

Kyungsoo’s mother, Queen Joohyun, only arrived when everyone else including Kyungsoo himself was already seated and waiting in the parliament hall. She arrived also with her own guards and assistants, Seulgi, Sooyoung and Yeri. As a Queen, she had more assistants assigned to her than a prince or princess would have.

When Joohyun arrived, everyone was made to stand and bow to her before being allowed to take their seats once she allowed them to.

As a member of the royal family and not as an elected senator, Kyungsoo had a chair beside his mother on the dais podium, which was a level higher than that of the parliament’s speaker and two levels higher than the senators.

Joohyun, as usual, merely smiled a little and raised an eyebrow to acknowledge her two children’s presence as she took her seat in between them.

Kyungsoo was seated to his mother’s left and Seungwan to their mother’s right as the Crown Princess. After the officiating speeches and formally starting that year’s parliament term, Joohyun took her leave without even saying a single word to her two children sitting to her left and right.

Seungwan too got up when Joohyun left; following after their mother, while parliament was still in session below and new bills were being brought up by the senators. Although Joohyun often participated in the parliament, she seemed to be busy as of late and didn’t see it necessary for her to remain any longer.

Seungwan waved back at Kyungsoo mouthing “goodbye” as she followed after their mother. Kyungsoo too wanted to get up and go after them but decided that it was better for him to stay and overhear what the parliament was debating about, wanting to be informed about new laws and policies in the country.

Kyungsoo ended up staying in parliament, overhearing the debate and the new proposed laws, until parliament was adjourned for lunch at one in the afternoon.

Kyungsoo didn’t plan to return for the afternoon session and instructed the official palace driver to take him to the royal palace where his mother’s official residence and office was at.

Despite not having an official appointment to visit her, Kyungsoo went on with it anyway despite the rather annoyed looks his mother’s secretary was giving him when he requested to meet her.

Kyungsoo had to wait in the lobby outside his mother’s office in the north wing of the royal palace of Vallis. A pair of large and heavy mahogany-colored oak doors with fully armed guards outside stood between the Queen’s office and the hall.

The lobby was a circular hall with glistening marble floors, regally decorated walls with large framed portraits of the previous rulers and important figures throughout Vallis’ history. Crystal chandeliers also hung from the high domed ceiling.

Vallis was indeed a rich and prosperous country and they weren’t afraid to show it off.

Yixing and Baekhyun sat on the sofa in the lobby, specifically designated for waiting guests before they were allowed an audience with the Queen. They had been served with the finest tea brewed from leaves grown in a highland somewhere in Vallis and pastry made by the finest patissiers who worked for the palace’s kitchen.

Kyungsoo was visibly anxious and constantly tapping the soles of his shoes on the polished marble floor. Meanwhile, Baekhyun was calmly sipping his tea while Yixing was just observing everything and everyone else in silence.

“Are you not going to drink that?” Baekhyun asked, motioning to Kyungsoo’s untouched teacup on the oval coffee table.

“No, I’m good,” Kyungsoo replied, “I’m not hungry.”

“Even though we haven’t even had lunch yet?” Baekhyun brought up, looking towards Yixing who shrugged and then back at Kyungsoo.

“We can eat once I get to see my mother. I don’t want to waste time and miss her when she has retired for the day,” Kyungsoo asserted.

“I believe Her Majesty will be in her office for a few hours each day for the rest of this week. I know because I checked her schedule with her confidential secretaries just earlier on,” Yixing informed.

“I know, I know,” Kyungsoo repeated, “-but I want to finish off what I can do today. I don’t like to procrastinate my tasks.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that,” Baekhyun mentioned, sipping his tea.

“Shouldn’t you have at least informed the Queen’s assistants beforehand at what you are going to discuss with her today?” Yixing pointed out, “Maybe that will help your meeting with the Queen go smoothly and that you can resolve whatever you have in mind faster?”

“I don’t really need to, it’s a personal matter,” Kyungsoo answered, remaining avoidant of the whole subject.

“Very well then,” Yixing nodded, “As you wish, your Highness.”

Baekhyun only rolled his eyes as he sipped his tea, knowing Kyungsoo’s behavior and mannerisms too well now.

While Yixing was more obedient and followed whatever Kyungsoo told him to a T, Baekhyun was not scared of voicing out his opinions and displeasure at Kyungsoo’s actions that he did not agree with, even if Kyungsoo was a prince.

Whatever it was and whatever that may happen, Baekhyun and Yixing would always have Kyungsoo’s back and that was a fact.

After over an hour of waiting in the lobby, Kyungsoo was finally allowed to have an audience with his mother in her office, which would last no longer than thirty minutes, of which Kyungsoo was informed of by one of by his mother’s secretary.

Kyungsoo was ushered into the Queen’s office by her secretary while Baekhyun and Yixing waited outside in the lobby.

Like the palace, the Queen’s office was not short of being grand. The walls were painted pearl white with frames and borders of intricate gold-colored carvings. There was a fireplace at one wall and in the middle of the room were seats for the guests.

On one wall, hung a large framed portrait of the previous King, Kyungsoo’s grandfather and his mother’s father.

The famed desk where all the previous King and Queens have sat at were lined with books and important papers. Joohyun was there; her glasses perched on her nose and her long black hair framing her face as she looked up at Kyungsoo who entered the office, while she was writing something down with a pen.

“To what do I owe you the pleasure of visit?” Joohyun spoke, lifting her head up and taking off her glasses as she leaned back in her armchair to greet Kyungsoo, “I must say this was rather short notice. Usually, you’d schedule a meeting with me up to two weeks in advance.”

“I know, I do apologize for that but there is something urgent I’d like to address,” Kyungsoo hasted, taking the seat on the opposite side of his mother’s desk, knowing deep inside that he would never get to be the one sitting on the chair where his mother sat.

“Very well then. Speak up,” Joohyun urged, folding her glasses and putting them aside on her desk.

“I was in parliament today overhearing the session. I stayed behind a bit after you and Seungwan left,” Kyungsoo told, “The senators were discussing to pass a bill to amend the laws of the death penalty and I-“

Before Kyungsoo could continue to voice out his opinion, Joohyun interjected, “You don’t have to worry about that, Kyungsoo. I am aware that a law proposing the abolishment of the death penalty is being brought up in the parliament to be debated. I did leave early today but I will be attending further discussion and debates of this proposed law. I am the Queen so I have the final say in that. The senators cannot pass the law without me anyway.”

“I know that but I-“ Kyungsoo tried to say until he was cut off yet again.

“Haven’t I told you before countless of times,” Joohyun’s tone was stern, “-that you don’t have to be worried or bother yourself with politics? It’s a waste of your time and you’re just worrying about it for nothing. Let the senators, me and your sister take care of this. I know you want to play your part for this country but you can do so when you marry Crown Prince Chanyeol from Zerura to forge a strong diplomatic tie between our countries. Try doing something within your capabilities for once.”

Kyungsoo was stunned, intimidated by his mother and her authoritativeness while she was scolding him. Kyungsoo shuddered, lowered his head to avoid her gaze and his feet began squirming under him.

Joohyun continued, “-you’re an omega, Kyungsoo. You will not be King so I don’t understand why you care so much. Haven’t you been told many times, since birth, that your sole purpose to serve this country is to marry Prince Chanyeol? If you love us and Vallis, then you will do as you are told. Omegas your age are already married and have a child at least. Just look at you. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Don’t make the same mistakes I did when I fell in love with your father when he was just my assistant. You have the chance to marry a Crown Prince so take it well. I know what’s best for you. I’m your mother, Kyungsoo.”

While Kyungsoo wished he had the audacity to stand up to her and tell his mother that no, she did not know what was best for him because she had never been in his shoes; he didn’t want to ruin their relationship either and didn’t see that it was something worth getting worked up over.

Kyungsoo merely nodded with his head lowered still, saying that understood what she was trying to convey to him.

According to the promise made by the previous rulers to marry Kyungsoo and Chanyeol to each other, the marriage would only take place after Kyungsoo turned twenty-two years old.

Kyungsoo turned twenty-two a few months ago and he knew it would be any day now until Zerura would send some people to bring Kyungsoo back to their country to marry Chanyeol, who would be turning twenty-six years old in the following fall.

For so long, Kyungsoo had been trying to avoid that as best as he could even if he knew it would be inevitable.

In a way, Kyungsoo thought that his mother was definitely right. If Kyungsoo were to decide that he didn’t want to marry Chanyeol, he could potentially ruin Vallis and Zerura’s bilateral relations, which in turn could negatively affect the millions of people in both countries.

Kyungsoo certainly didn’t want that to happen and although he was the one being inconvenienced, Kyungsoo saw the bigger picture and determined his suffering was better than that of millions of other people should he ruin Vallis and Zerura’s relations by refusing to marry Chanyeol.

Then again, Kyungsoo wasn’t really upset about being made to marry someone else and have their children. He was upset that he didn’t have a say or a choice in it and that he was to marry someone he barely even knew.

Kyungsoo always desired what everyone else had too; that was a loving partner with whom he could raise a happy family with and be proud of. He just never asked for it this way.

Even though he knew this wasn’t Chanyeol’s fault, it really felt like it and he couldn’t help but feel some sort of resentment towards Chanyeol for it.

Honestly, Kyungsoo was very much upset at the turn of events that day. He was hurt by his mother’s words, even though he could see the truth behind it. He didn’t blame his mother or anyone else for how he felt. Kyungsoo solely believed that everything was his fault and thus only he was to blame, even if his only fault was for being born the way he is.

Kyungsoo knew someone like him didn’t deserve to have such dreams of freedom and free will, despite how simple they were as a basic essential human right; one which he didn’t seem to possess because apparently royalty weren’t allowed the freedom of choice over their own lives.

Even if Kyungsoo wanted to believe that he had long accepted the fact that had been laid out for him since birth, then why was he still getting upset when he was reminded of it and what was to come? Had he really not accepted the truth and still desired for his a life where he got to live it the way he pleased?

To Kyungsoo, it really was all but a daydream and a fantasy.

Kyungsoo stayed up a bit late that evening before going to bed. He found it hard to calm his thoughts down to be able to go to sleep when his mind was still racing over the words exchanged between himself and his mother, especially when he was reminded of the fact that it could be any day now until he was sent to Zerura to marry Chanyeol.

Unable to sleep yet, Kyungsoo was writing away at his desk accompanied by a table lamp in his dimly lit room. Baekhyun was most definitely asleep at these times and Yixing might still be awake, both of them each having their own rooms in the official residence.

In the meantime, Kyungsoo was trying to get some paperwork done and was trying to be as discreet as possible, just in case someone found out he was still awake at this time of the night especially after the long day he had. Kyungsoo just didn’t want anyone to worry about him too much.

As Kyungsoo was writing away under the illumination of the desk lamp, the grandfather clock in his room struck twelve midnight, ringing out its usual chime melody. The clock had been set to not let out a chime when it struck at the full hour so as to not disturb sleeping times, so Kyungsoo was a bit startled and jumped in his seat slightly to hear it chime.

When he remembered that the usual maid cleaning service, whom the palace hired to come by three times a week to clean Kyungsoo’s official residence, had dropped by that morning, Kyungsoo felt relieved that it wasn’t either Baekhyun or Yixing playing a prank on him by turning on the clock chime switch.

The maids from the cleaning service were quite known for accidentally turning on the switch while cleaning and then not resetting it back to usual.

The clock chime at midnight had snapped Kyungsoo out of his daze. He had been working but in his head, his thoughts were actually running and racing through his impending fate to be married to Chanyeol.

The thought bothered Kyungsoo more than he ever thought it would, despite how much he tried to not let it get to him. In truth, Kyungsoo had been denying the fact that it actually did bother him for so long; despite how much he tried to pretend or show that he was at peace with it.

Kyungsoo only deluded himself into believing that he was truly okay with this, using the excuse that this was for the sake of the people even if it meant forsaking his own happiness. He really wasn’t okay with any of this, after all.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help but feel that if somehow, Chanyeol was to just suddenly drop dead; he would be free from this arranged marriage nonsense. Of course, Kyungsoo wouldn’t wish death on anyone but he was desperate and distraught and he didn’t really blame himself either for thinking of such.

That night, Kyungsoo only went to bed after it was an hour past midnight. While he was lying in bed with his eyes shut and waiting to drift off to sleep, Kyungsoo wanted to fantasize himself as a future King who got to be in a relationship with the person he loved out of his own choice, where he was judged only for his character and not for the biological trait he had been born with.

But even in a dream and a fantasy, it all seemed almost impossible to attain too.

The next morning, Kyungsoo’s schedule was rather free, although he did plan on dropping by at the military base to request to be sent on a military exercise or a mission. In the past month or so, for some reasons, Kyungsoo hadn’t been given much work to do and it was mostly him who actually tried to make himself busy in order to be productive.

Kyungsoo was used to Yixing waking him up but that morning, Baekhyun was also there too in his room, waiting for him to wake up, the both of them standing at the foot of his bed.

They were also both fully dressed ready for the day and not in their usual casual clothes which they wore at home.

“Good morning, your Highness,” Yixing dutifully greeted, a routine he did every morning. And because Yixing did this every day for years now, Kyungsoo could immediately tell something was wrong from the tone Yixing spoke in and the rather distraught face he was trying to hide.

“Morning,” Baekhyun greeted with his hands clasped behind his back, standing straight like that.

“I hope you slept well,” Yixing said.

“It was alright, I hope you two slept well too,” Kyungsoo returned, grabbing his glasses off of the nightstand, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and then standing up to join his two guards and friends at the foot of his four-poster bed.

When Kyungsoo approached closer to Baekhyun and Yixing, Baekhyun seemed to shift a little, as if he was hiding something in his hands behind his back.

Kyungsoo noticed this and prompted, “Is there anything?”

“Actually, there is,” Baekhyun quickly answered.

“Indeed there is,” Yixing agreed, nodding his head.

“What is it? Just tell me,” Kyungsoo’s shoulders slumped, not knowing what it was but already able to guess that it wasn’t any good news.

Reluctantly and with a heavy heart, Baekhyun brought his hands forward to pass to Kyungsoo a sealed envelope imbued in red. The wax seal was a darker red- almost maroon and from a quick look, Kyungsoo could already recognize the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Zerura on the inscribed on the envelope and the seal.

“This was delivered to us by a messenger from Zerura this morning,” Baekhyun informed, holding out the envelope to Kyungsoo who had yet to take it.

Yixing looked on in silence, also rather worryingly.

With slightly shaking hands, Kyungsoo took the envelope from Baekhyun and didn’t wait to walk over to his desk to fetch a letter opener to open the wax seal and find out what the contents inside were.

No one held their breath though because everyone knew what it was going to be, although they still felt the need to open the envelope and read the contents before deciding how to feel about it next.

As Kyungsoo cut the wax seal open with the letter opener, Baekhyun and Yixing stood to his left and right each, looking over Kyungsoo’s shoulder to have a look at what was going on too.

When Kyungsoo finally unsealed the enveloped and retrieved the crisp letter inside, he found himself skimming through all the words and not being able to register anything else written on the letter, except for the words in bold and in red ink, ordering Kyungsoo to be present in Zerura to be prepared to become “Crown Prince Chanyeol’s consort” in two week’s time at most from the date Kyungsoo received the letter.

Yixing and Baekhyun had been peering over Kyungsoo’s shoulders, so they knew what the contents of the letter were, although they could also pretty much guess what it would be as if that fact wasn’t obvious enough. They just needed to see it with their own eyes to confirm that this was really happening.

The room fell silent. Not even the sounds of their breathing could be heard even while huddled next to each other.

Kyungsoo was right to be the most scared one out of the three of them.

“I won’t lie but I kind of want to run away now,” Kyungsoo admitted, followed by a short sigh, ending the silence surrounding them.

“We could go down South,” Baekhyun suggested, “No one would know who we are there. We can assume new identities and blend in with the people there.”

“I will follow whatever your orders are,” Yixing affirmed, "I shall go where you go."

“Nobody is running. I didn’t mean that,” Kyungsoo backpedaled. “You know I can’t do that but I also cannot destroy the relations between Vallis and Zerura and the millions of people living in both countries. We cannot risk another war like the one that happened during the time of our grandparents because of the long-standing conflict stemmed from political issues. We are supposed to have advanced as a society and not regress.”

“So you’re going to Zerura to marry the Crown Prince?” Baekhyun sounded dumbfounded.

“I always needed to do that. It was just a matter of when I needed to do it and time is now,” Kyungsoo answered, looking into Baekhyun’s eyes.

“I knew that, “ Baekhyun replied, “I knew that since we met in the military academy but I was hoping it’d never come. This isn’t fair for you.”

“Perhaps? I’m not sure, to be honest,” Kyungsoo shrugged, “-but I do know that I have to do this. I have to leave for Zerura soon to marry their Crown Prince. It is my responsibility that only I can fulfill so I have to perform it.”

“Fret not, your Highness,” Yixing assured, “No matter to which corners of the world you are made to go to, I shall dutifully follow you and obey your every order. I do this not only because it is my job to do so but because I believe in your leadership and your capabilities to one day become a great ruler for all the people.”

“That’s right!” Baekhyun chimed in, “I’m not just your lackey, Kyungsoo, even if that is what I’m being paid to be. I’m your good friend and I will try my best to help you in any way I can because I know you have what it takes. If you have to go to Zerura, then we’re going too.”

Kyungsoo was sad, obviously, but he did smile up a little and feel slightly relieved to know that at least he wouldn’t be going through this alone. Kyungsoo held Baekhyun and Yixing’s hand in either of his, joining the three of them in a circle.

Even if he didn’t have the rights to do as he please and the freedom of choice in the society he lived in, in the kind of life he was born in; he was glad to know that at least a thing such as friendship and loyalty did exist after all.

  


The next day, Kyungsoo was summoned for an audience with his mother, the Queen, only for her to tell him that he couldn’t bring Yixing and Baekhyun along with him to Zerura because it was their request that he came alone.

Kyungsoo tried to debate with his mother that it was rather odd that he, a foreign prince, wouldn’t be allowed to bring at least an assistant with him to Zerura. However, Joohyun argued that Zerura would be providing their own assistants and guards to service Kyungsoo once he was there; a statement they had made clear through the dignitary send to delegate on the matter with Joohyun.

Despite Kyungsoo’s pleas and attempts to bargain, it seemed like the decision was already set in stone.

Kyungsoo also found it rather strange that his mother, who was usually a bold woman and didn’t bend over easily when it came to negotiations, would just easily accept such conditions that seemed to inconvenience her own son.

However, Joohyun assured Kyungsoo that Baekhyun and Yixing would still have their jobs in the military and wouldn’t be totally unemployed once he left for Zerura.

The way Kyungsoo saw it, it was just another way for his mother to finally cut him off from the family and let his “future husband’s” family be responsible for him, just like the way it was for almost every omega born into this world who was given away at marriage like a burden to be passed around.

Baekhyun and Yixing were rather devastated to find out that they wouldn’t be allowed to accompany Kyungsoo to Zerura, even if that felt like the only good thing to come out of the whole situation, which was now left redundant too.

Instead of going through denial over the fact, Kyungsoo himself together with Baekhyun and Yixing instead prepared for his departure to Zerura in less than two weeks, while also making sure that he got to spend his remaining days in Vallis as fulfilled as possible.

Numerous delegates and officials from Zerura arrived in Vallis over the course of the next few days to assist Kyungsoo’s move there. Kyungsoo was told to only bring belongings such as clothes, shoes, books or any other personal items he’d like to take with him as he was told that everything else would be provided for him in Zerura.

Seungwan and Joohyun also came by to visit Kyungsoo during those two weeks before he left. But to Kyungsoo, they didn’t seem to talk about him or ask how he felt about the move to Zerura. They talked more about how good it would be for politics and relations between their country and Zerura.

Kyungsoo couldn’t really blame them and although he was disappointed, he wasn’t really surprised either. He’d just have to continue working harder, even while in Zerura so that he would one day be recognized for who he made himself to be and not what he was made to be.

Then, on the last night Kyungsoo before he left for Zerura, Kyungsoo went out with Yixing and Baekhyun to South Tera, a bar they often frequented together in a cobblestone alley in the older part of Verndina.

Since the bar was in a building that was a few hundred years at least, the interior design was kept as rustic and traditional. Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Yixing had a table by themselves at the mezzanine floor, from where they could overlook the ground floor and everyone else below where it was more packed, although still rather empty because it was a weekday night.

Baekhyun and Yixing drank the most while Kyungsoo hadn’t even finished his first mug of South Tera’s famous draft beer. Kyungsoo was never much of a drinker and he wasn’t going to show up in front of the Zerura’s officials tomorrow with a hangover or- even worse- drunk still.

“I still can’t believe you’re the youngest one out of all of us and you’re going to be married first,” Baekhyun said with his head between his hands and his elbows on the wooden table, already tipsy.

“If you think it’s like that, then shouldn’t I be married first because I’m older than you two?” Yixing suggested.

“I don’t think it’ll be any harm if you got married first. You’re not a prince so you obviously won’t be married off to some stranger you barely even know to secure a political alliance,” Baekhyun argued back.

“Crown Prince Chanyeol isn’t actually a complete stranger though,” Kyungsoo pointed out, raising the beer mug to his lips to take slow sips, which was why he had yet to finish even his first mug of beer, “I mean, I know how he looks like and he isn’t that bad appearance-wise.”

“I get it, okay,” Baekhyun mentioned, “You’re trying to see the positives and the good part about this whole situation to make the best out of it. Sure, you may think Crown Prince Chanyeol is handsome but you still barely know him.”

Yixing too had his own thing to say about it, “Yeah, you only see him like once every two years when he comes along to Vallis with his father for yearly diplomatic visits. Then you two talk about politics for like fifteen minutes while surrounded by the press and numerous other guards and ministers. I am surprised that Zerura hasn’t even brought up the idea of having you two write letters to each other. So yes, I agree that you barely know him.”

“I know I know,” Kyungsoo repeated, keeping his head down and his eyes lazily gazing to the wooden top table and the glass beer mug under the illumination of the yellow lighting in the bar, “Zerura is a rich and prosperous country so I don’t doubt that their Crown Prince will be as equally as great as that, if he’s trusted to inherit the leadership one day. I just don’t like how I’m going to be reduced to just as a consort who is expected to bear children, even after everything I have done to break free from this omega stereotype and image. I feel like I lost already.”

“No, you haven’t!,” Baekhyun stressed, grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s upper arm, looking him in the eye, “You are going to go there to Zerura to show Chanyeol and all their people- not that they have many compared to us- that you are the true embodiment of a successful Vallisean who isn’t conformed by their biological identity Got it!?”.

Kyungsoo chuckled a little, “I guess so.”

“I hate to say it but Baekhyun is right,” Yixing added, then chugging down a few gulps of his beer, “You’re going to go there and prove everyone wrong. Not just the people of Zerura but also to any of doubters here at home.”

“Thank you, you two,” Kyungsoo smiled, “That makes me feel a whole lot better. I’m glad to have you two with me. I know you two can’t come along but I will try my best to eventually work something out so we can be a team again. I will try my best.”

“We know you will. We never doubted you not even once,” Yixing trusted, putting his arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Baekhyun did the same too, linking the three of them together with arms around each other’s shoulder. “Yeah,” Baekhyun spoke, “Worry about yourself first. We’ll be fine but you’re the one moving to a different country. Remember to take care of yourself, eat well and always be safe. Also please write back to us when you can.”

“I will. I promise,” Kyungsoo began to tear up in the midst of his smile because somehow, he felt extremely lucky to have such good people around him yet utterly devastated to feel like he was willingly surrendering himself to a conscious defeat.

“I’ll miss you but it’s not like one of us is dying or something like that. We’ll see each other again one day,” Baekhyun consoled.

“Indeed,” Yixing agreed.

Kyungsoo laughed and cried at the same too.

Yixing cried a little too and Baekhyun tried to mask his sadness by drinking it away through the rest of the night. Each one of them wished the night would never end because they knew it meant having to part with Kyungsoo when the morning came.

The following morning, Seungwan and Joohyun visited Kyungsoo one last time in his home while Baekhyun and Yixing helped to load the few pieces of luggage bags into a car to be delivered to the train station.

Seungwan hugged Kyungsoo goodbye while Joohyun didn’t. She bade him goodbye verbally and reminded him to be on his best behavior and to remember to uphold the name of their family and country. 

As a parting gift, Joohyun gifted Kyungsoo a blue leather-bound notebook, one that used to belong her own father, the former King. Kyungsoo accepted the gift as a small piece of consolation over being “given away”, although he didn’t pay much mind to it at the time.

Dressed in a black coat over a three-piece black suit and a matching black homburg hat, Kyungsoo bowed one last time to his mother and sister before getting into the car that would take him to the train station.

Baekhyun and Yixing accompanied Kyungsoo all the way to the Verndina central train station, where a shining red steam engine train from Zerura was already waiting on one of the tracks, with numerous Zerurian guards waiting around and outside it.

The official color of Zerura was a rufescent red and the guards waiting outside were all dressed in their official uniform of the same color, which was almost similar to the color of the multiple carriage train 

Zerura had sent their official royal train to fetch Kyungsoo all the way in the Vallis capital city of Verndina, which was at least eight hundred kilometers eastbound from the Zerurian capital of Alberta. The train had arrived the night before and had been prepared to make the long journey back to Alberta that morning.

On the track platform with Zerura’s fastest and latest train in the background, amidst the sounds of the engine and the steam emitted from the spout; Kyungsoo was greeted by a palace official from Zerura who was a male and most likely a beta too in his middle age.

To him, Baekhyun and Yixing officially “handed over” Kyungsoo, who was allowed to say his goodbyes one last time before he boarded onto the train.

Kyungsoo’s luggage was also loaded onto another carriage on the train, while Kyungsoo only carried a small bag with him as a carry-on.

The train hadn’t left and it was still in the Verndina central train station but yet, Kyungsoo already felt like he was in a foreign place. Everything inside the train’s regally decorated carriage; from the walls to the floors and the chairs was in the rufescent red color and boasted designs reflecting Zerurian identity.

Kyungsoo had been to Zerura maybe two or three times over the past twenty-two years of his existence, usually when he was allowed to accompany his mother on official visits. Even then, he was only there for a few days at most and didn’t really get to see much, except to the places he was allowed to go to.

The palace official from Zerura was welcoming and polite to Kyungsoo, asking him if he would like to have something to drink or eat even before the train departed from the stations. Words of reassurance and hopefulness were told, saying how excited Chanyeol would be to meet him was also spoken.

Kyungsoo wasn’t too sure if Chanyeol was actually happy at being thrust into basically the same fate as him; which was to marry someone they barely knew all for the sake of a political alliance and millions of people.

Kyungsoo just hoped that Chanyeol would at least be civil to him once they were married.

Kyungsoo turned down the offer for refreshments, choosing to clutch onto the blue notebook his mother had gifted him, which he had put into the small bag he carried with him. Kyungsoo sat on one of the armchairs in the private car that made up a section of the train, while he waited for departure.

Kyungsoo was visibly nervous but he tried his best to maintain his composure. From here on, he was carrying the weight of the reputation of the entire royal family and the entire nation of Vallis. It was a huge responsibility he never signed up for and he was about to shoulder that alongside a marriage he never consented to either.

When it was announced that the train would be leaving the platform soon and the wheels began to shift slightly, Kyungsoo lost all his composure and leaped out of the armchair before rushing to the car’s windows to look one last time at Baekhyun and Yixing who were still there waiting on the platform.

Kyungsoo smiled and cried at the same time to see them there, waving them goodbye as he mouthed the words to them from behind the glass.

Baekhyun and Yixing waved back hard and when the train began to move, Baekhyun chased after it so he could continue to look at Kyungsoo even through a glass, with Yixing also running after Baekhyun until the end of the platform.

Kyungsoo continued to look back at his friends waving back at him until they disappeared out of sight as the train traveled further down the tracks and away from the station.

When Kyungsoo could see them no longer, he sat back down on the armchair in silence and in tears, which he quickly wiped off his face.

The official from Zerura came back to the car to tell Kyungsoo that the journey would take a bit under eight hours and asked him again if he would like anything. Kyungsoo only requested to be brought to a sleeping carriage so he could rest.

Even though it was still morning, Kyungsoo was already tired out from all the kinds of emotions he had to face that day. Physically, he wasn’t so much tired but he was emotionally drained indeed.

Kyungsoo fell asleep fast even in a place he wasn’t used to, aided by the slight movements of the train that rocked him to sleep like a cradle.

Kyungsoo woke up four hours into the journey, already more than halfway through the entire trip. It was still bright outside, although the scenery he could see through the window was that of the vast plains and countryside and not the cities and town he saw earlier on before he went to sleep.

Looking at it, Kyungsoo realized that he was indeed a ways from home now.

This time, Kyungsoo requested to have a meal and spent the next four hours eating fine food which was cooked by an on-board chef that served the royal family, reading Zerurian books provided on the train and also writing down in the blue notebook his mother had gifted to him.

Kyungsoo wrote down that day’s date; March 19th, 1917, and began to write about his experience thus far of having to leave Vallis and go to Zerura to marry their Crown Prince. Kyungsoo wrote down about how he felt, how much he missed home and his friends already and how he hoped that Chanyeol would be nice to him once they met.

The remainder of the journey didn’t felt long at all for Kyungsoo and the train slowed down when it traveled on the Ostshore Bridge; a railway bridge built over the Ostshore channel that separated the island of Zerura from the continent of Teren. On the Vallis side, there was a border control and Zerura had their own on the other side of the bridge on their own island.

Ostshore Bridge was built at the narrowest width between the island and the continent, encompassing a distance of 3.5 kilometers. The bridge itself was considered a technological marvel and construction feat for their time which was made possible by the efforts of both Zerura and Vallis.

The sun was setting when the train was passing over the channel on Ostshore Bridge. From here, Kyungsoo could see the sun slowly sinking beneath the horizon and the sea glistening and reflecting the color of the orange sky.

It was beautiful and certainly a sight that Kyungsoo didn’t get to see every day. However, despite that, Kyungsoo wasn’t fully able to appreciate nature’s beauty because he knew that once he arrived on the other side of the bridge; he would have already arrived in Zerura.

Once the train arrived past the Zerura border controls on their side of the Ostshore channel, the rest of the journey seemed to go past by even faster. The Zerura official traveling with Kyungsoo announced to him that they would be arriving in less than an hour and that Chanyeol would be welcoming him at the Alberta train station when he arrived.

The curtains were pulled shut for privacy when the train arrived within the city limits. Kyungsoo wasn’t able to have a look at how Alberta looked like, since the last time he was there six years ago when accompanying Joohyun on an official visit.

Kyungsoo just remembered that the Zerurian capital city of Alberta was close to the sea and boasted scenic river channels that ran inside the city.

In a way, he was excited to see it again but not really eager for the circumstances surrounding it.


	2. Imperial

Kyungsoo spent his entire life hoping this moment would never come but here he was, separated from it by just some doors. He was already in Zerura and Chanyeol was probably just standing on the other side behind the doors.

The train had come to a halt on a private platform within the Alberta train station. The curtains were still shut for privacy, as was the usual protocol for a carriage transporting important people, especially royalty and political leaders.

Kyungsoo was clutching the handles of his small bag, carrying it in front of him as the doors were opened, revealing the view of the station’s platform.

Kyungsoo was looking down at first, mindful of his steps to disembark from the train and safely cross over the gap between the train and the platform.

It was already night time when Kyungsoo arrived but the train station and platform was well lit and bright enough that Kyungsoo didn’t quite feel like it was dark already.

When Kyungsoo was finally on the concrete surface of the platform, he looked up to see Zerurian guards dressed in their official dark red uniform. The guards bowed their heads to him and then Kyungsoo noticed the taller man standing a bit behind them.

He was dressed in a black suit much like Kyungsoo was but in a slightly different fashion. In Zerura, cravats were still commonly worn unlike in Vallis where the fashion had evolved to wearing ties instead. 

Kyungsoo didn’t need to ask. He knew who this tall man with golden blond hair was. This was Chanyeol, the future King of Zerura and his husband-to-be.

Kyungsoo had last met Chanyeol a few years ago when the latter had made an official visit to Vallis. Since then, Chanyeol hadn’t seemed to change much appearance-wise although he certainly looked more mature and refined than previously.

“Welcome,” Chanyeol greeted, standing tall and straight while flanked by his guards, “How was your trip? I hope it went well. You must be tired from the long journey.”

“Oh, not at all,” Kyungsoo flustered, avoiding Chanyeol’s gaze due to how tense he felt, as he clutched the handles of his bag even tighter, “I had some rest during the trip so I feel quite fine.”

“Well then, I’m glad to hear that it went by smoothly and you have arrived safe,” Chanyeol smiled, although it seemed to come off as rather forced.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo replied, tilting his head slightly upwards to meet Chanyeol’s gaze, slightly comforted by the inviting words and noticed how Chanyeol’s eyes squinted slightly when he smiled. Kyungsoo thought it was quite adorable actually except for the way that maybe Chanyeol looked as uncomfortable as Kyungsoo felt.

“If there’s nothing else, we can head back for the palace now. It’s a bit up North at the outskirts of Alberta but it won’t take us long to get there. Unless there is somewhere you want to stop by first?” Chanyeol inquired.

“I don’t have anywhere in mind,” Kyungsoo mentioned, “-however, is there a way for me to send a message to my family and friends in Vallis to inform them that I have arrived safely?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that at all,” Chanyeol assured, “I have already ordered one of my staff to send a telegraph message to the Vallis royal palace the moment you arrived here. Rest assured, that your people in Vallis will know that you are safe and alright here.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo responded, bowing his head slightly as a form of respect, “Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to bow to me,” Chanyeol clarified, now being the one who was a bit flustered, “You’re a foreign royalty and you’re not obliged to do so since you don’t pledge allegiance to me.”

“Alright then,” Kyungsoo smiled back, “I just wanted to be prepared for it because you’re going to be my husband.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol smiled again, his eyes squinting and visibly rather nervous himself too.

Chanyeol was a gentleman it seemed, even in the first “real” meeting Kyungsoo had with him which didn’t involve an official visit.

Chanyeol offered to walk alongside Kyungsoo and the Zerurian guards, of course, off the train platform and to a car already waiting for them on the street. The car Kyungsoo and Chanyeol rode in had its own personal driver and they were escorted by a few other cars throughout the journey too.

In the car, Chanyeol told Kyungsoo that they would now go to the official residential palace of the Zerurian royal family, which currently just consisted of Chanyeol and his father the reigning King. Chanyeol even took the time to ask Kyungsoo if he was tired or feeling hungry after the train journey, seeming ready to accommodate to any of Kyungsoo’s requests if needed to.

Kyungsoo, however, turned down the offers yet again and simply stated that he too wished to arrive at the palace as soon as possible.

The rest of the journey to the palace was rather quiet, although Chanyeol did talk occasionally to point out so and so building or landmark which they passed by on their way there.

From what it seemed, Alberta didn’t seem too much different than Verndina in terms of building designs or architecture. Although, Alberta was quite smaller, less dense and less busy than Verndina.

While Verndina gave off a rather business and busy city vibe, Alberta gave off a more homely feel and everything else seemed slower paced here despite it being one of the major hub cities in the region.

Even from inside the car and just watching the cobblestone street under the orange glow of the street gas lamps, Kyungsoo could already imagine himself walking on those streets feeling the quaintness of this place he would have to call his new home.

The cityscape of Alberta soon passed them by, as they were getting closer to the palace. The buildings and houses by the street were getting smaller and more far apart with more empty plains and lands in between.

Soon it was just empty pasture of rather hilly land as the car drove up and down the road that began to slope at certain angles.

Kyungsoo had done his research and he had been there a few times too. The Zerurian royal palace was built at the base of a mountain in the outskirts of Alberta, just beside a lake named Heaven’s Lake, which led out to the sea through a fjord further downstream.

The outskirts of Alberta were famed for its rather mountainous terrain which had contributed to the area being chosen as the site for the royal palace and the capital city being established not far away. In medieval times during the conquering era, the mountainous landscape had made the area easy to fortify and also easy to defend from invading forces at the same time.

The Zerurian royal palace was a complex with actually two separate palace buildings in one compound that was collectively known together as the Zerurian royal family’s official palace.

The walls and tall iron gates surrounding the palace complex was heavily guarded and fortified. Even their car was stopped by at the gates to be inspected before the guards allowed them to pass through. On the gates, inscribed in the iron was a large crest of the coat of arms of the Zerurian royal family; which was two griffins and two swords crossed over the other against a shield-like design.

From there on, it took maybe a good ten minutes of driving up a white-colored, well paved and pristine driveway surrounded by a vast expanse of grassed land, large well-crafted gardens and other supplementary buildings within the compound too.

It was nighttime when Kyungsoo got there so he wasn’t able to see much or too well, but he could see that although the walls were mostly painted white, the roofs were obviously a deep brick red that reflected the official color of Zerura.

“My palace is the West one. There’s where you will be staying with me,” Chanyeol explained in the car, which was already slowing down as they approached their destination, “My father resides in the East palace which is facing the lake. Unfortunately, you can’t get a nice view of Heaven’s Lake from my palace but I’ll take you there someday.”

“Oh, you don’t live with your father?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I haven’t lived with him since I turned fifteen,” Chanyeol replied, sitting up straight and looking ahead at nothing particularly, “-besides, as the Crown Prince, I’m entitled to my own palace residence anyway. I don’t have siblings so it’s not like I have to share it with them either.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo nodded, understanding.

Chanyeol folded his arms over his lower chest, “You have a sister, who is the current Crown Princess, don’t you? Are you close with her?”

“Yeah, we’re quite close but as we grew older and got busier, it’s been hard to see each other like we used to. She goes overseas a lot on foreign diplomatic missions too.” Kyungsoo smiled at the thought of his sister.

“That’s understandable. I see my father maybe two to three times a month myself even though our palaces are literally right next to each other,” Chanyeol revealed, pointing to his father’s palace in the distance and his own, which they were now pulling up in front of.

“Speaking of which, shouldn’t we go together to visit your father first since I’ve arrived here now? I thought it would be a good gesture to do that, don’t you think?” Kyungsoo suggested.

“You couldn’t do that even if you wanted. He’s not here right now. In fact, he almost never is. He has a residence in another city and he prefers living there- away from me,” Chanyeol informed, with a hint of slight dryness to his tone.

Kyungsoo wasn’t unable to respond that. He was clearly an outsider and pretty much a stranger too still, to all of this. It also sounded a bit too personal and Kyungsoo had decided that it wasn’t his place to just callously ask Chanyeol about that yet.

Quietly, Kyungsoo waited until a footman opened the car doors for them, which was parked near a fountain in the driveway outside the palace’s entrance, as he exited the automobile slowly and with his head slowly tilted down while Chanyeol led Kyungsoo into his new home.

Inside the palace’s main hallway entrance, under a large glimmering crystal chandelier, Chanyeol asked Kyungsoo one more time but with a voice that was sterner if he would like to have dinner or anything else.

When Kyungsoo firmly refused again, assuring that he was fine, Chanyeol nodded his head and muttered a low, “Very well then.”

Chanyeol walked off, away in another direction while some servants introduced themselves to Kyungsoo and showed him the way around the palace and to his room while his luggage was being carried up by the footmen.

Kyungsoo’s room in the palace was much larger than the one he had in his official residence in Verndina. The bed, furniture and pretty much everything was larger here. Although not entirely red, the color was very prominent in the design scheme of his room.

Kyungsoo had started off the day being sad at leaving his home behind and then being nervous about going to a new place. Then when he had met Chanyeol, Kyungsoo had been deluded into this sense of security and comfort which Chanyeol seemed to exude to him.

Kyungsoo had to sternly remind himself that he needed to keep his head straight and not be fooled by Chanyeol’s looks and charms into thinking that any of this was alright. Sure, Chanyeol wasn’t the one to be blamed into this arranged marriage but Kyungsoo refused to still accept such a fate onto himself.

Now, alone in this large room so far away from home and everything else he knew, Kyungsoo came back to the reality that he had now been basically “given away” for marriage just because he was an omega.

Kyungsoo felt his knees trembling and his stomach churning as he faced the horror that he was all alone in this foreign land. Suddenly, Kyungsoo felt like he might need to take up that offer for dinner now after refusing it so many times.

At least, Kyungsoo knew what time it was, thanks to a small clock atop the fireplace in his new room, even if he didn’t have the large grandfather clock he was used to. Knowing the time was probably one of the things he felt sure of while he was there.

It was mid-March and Kyungsoo initially thought it would be warmer in Alberta but it was actually cooler here instead, especially with the cold Northern winds that cooled even more when it passed over the lake just outside the palace.

The fireplace was crackling and a servant would come in every other hour to check up on him and the fire. They had also unpacked all of Kyungsoo’s luggage- which was just about four regular-sized bags- and had put them away accordingly as to Kyungsoo’s instructions.

Now at almost eleven at night and not yet leaving the room since he arrived, Kyungsoo was writing away on a blank page in his blue notebook.

Unable to sleep and not knowing what would become next of himself, Kyungsoo anxiously wrote a letter addressed to Yixing and Baekhyun; telling them about how tense and uncertain he felt there, hoping that it was just his nervousness at being in a new place he knew barely anything of.

The letter sort of become a rant, with Kyungsoo rather deliriously going in circles about how he was scared that he would lose his identity as a Vallisean and that he would be reduced to nothing but an omega bride when he had to marry Chanyeol.

Speaking of marriage, Kyungsoo also mentioned in the letter that he didn’t know when or how it would happen because it hadn’t even been brought up since he arrived there.

Before Kyungsoo could even finish writing the letter, a knock was heard on his door at a few minutes past eleven at night, with a servant announcing from behind the door that Chanyeol had requested to see him in the drawing room, with the servant being there to take Kyungsoo to Chanyeol.

Hastily, Kyungsoo slammed his notebook shut and quickly got up from the desk, straightening out his dress shirt before meeting the servant that would take him to Chanyeol.

As Kyungsoo was being led down the hallway, where the lights had been dimmed down because it was now quite late at night, Kyungsoo still managed to catch sight of the large portraits of the former King and Queens of Zerura which was hung on the walls.

Kyungsoo also managed to see the portrait of the current King Junmyeon, Chanyeol’s father. Although he didn’t look quite similar to Chanyeol, it seemed that they shared the similar thick golden blond hair. Kyungsoo never asked but he probably didn’t have to guess to know that Junmyeon was definitely an alpha also.

The servant who led the way held the door open for Kyungsoo but did not join him inside, leaving Kyungsoo alone with Chanyeol in the drawing room.

It was rather dim in the drawing room and the only sources of light seemed to be the fireplace and a small desk lamp on a side table. In the drawing room, there were couches, coffee tables, bookshelves, and even a pool table.

There, Kyungsoo found Chanyeol seated on an armchair with a small table in between and another armchair on the other side of the table. On top of the small table between the two armchairs was a wooden chess set with a game appearing to be in play on it, even though there was no one else there with Chanyeol.

“Sit,” Chanyeol commanded, leaning forward on the armchair to rest his elbows on his lap and resting his chin on his joined hands. Chanyeol only briefly looked up to see Kyungsoo before averting his gaze back to the chessboard in front of him.

Doing as he was told, Kyungsoo took a seat on the armchair opposite from Chanyeol, effectively sitting himself down on the other side of the chessboard that seemed to be in control of the white pieces.

At first, Kyungsoo wondered if Chanyeol had really asked him to come to play chess but when he saw Chanyeol moving both black and white pieces, Kyungsoo understood that Chanyeol was most likely playing against himself.

Seeing as that was not the case, Kyungsoo wanted to ask Chanyeol what his reasons were, except that Chanyeol looked a bit too serious in the game of chess against himself that made Kyungsoo rather hesitant to open his mouth and ask.

Chanyeol was dressed in a black turtleneck with one sleeve rolled up to his elbow and his blond hair was a bit messier and tousled this time.

Seeing Chanyeol’s appearance slightly disheveled and in more casual clothes, rather than the formal clothes the both of them were always wearing in the few times they met each other; the fact that Kyungsoo was expected to share his life with Chanyeol began to sink in even more.

Kyungsoo would be seeing more of Chanyeol in situations like these and maybe even the reverse too. This was supposed to be normal for a couple who had actually gotten together out of their own will but because that wasn’t the case, Kyungsoo just felt strange and awkward about it.

Somehow, it felt too personal and that was a level he hadn’t achieved with Chanyeol yet.

“Look,” Chanyeol spoke, looking up from the chessboard and towards Kyungsoo sitting opposite from him, “I know you don’t want this as much I do. Our parents set us up with each other since we were still in diapers and that we have no say in this. I understand how you feel so you aren’t alone in that aspect.”

Kyungsoo was speechless. Out of all the things he expected Chanyeol to say, he wasn’t even expecting this but then again, it made perfect sense too. Kyungsoo had always been focusing on his own feelings and worrying about his own future, without realizing that Chanyeol was practically in the same spot as him too.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Chanyeol straightened his back, leaning back against the armchair with an arm perched on the armrest.

“N-no…I mean yes!” Kyungsoo quickly backpedaled, “To be honest, I’m still trying to process everything that is happening. It all seems too fast and sudden for me even though I’ve been told since I was a child that I would have to marry you one day. I thought I’d grow up learning to accept and embrace it but clearly, I haven’t yet.”

“I told myself the same too but eventually I realized-,” Chanyeol exclaimed, “-that we’d never learn to accept it because we never had the right to decide. We’re just conditioning ourselves to accept it so when it comes, it would make reality seem a little less harsh to know that being royalty means we don’t really have the same rights a commoner does. But yet here we are.”

“You couldn’t have spoken it out of my mouth any better,” Kyungsoo sighed.

“Do you have anyone?” Chanyeol asked, moving a white piece on the chessboard, “Is there anyone you’re in love with back at home, whom you’d rather marry than me?”

“I don’t,” Kyungsoo honestly replied, “I haven’t had the opportunity to form such relationships.”

“Me too,” Chanyeol continued, “Well, it should make things easier between us. We don’t have to hurt other people, just ourselves then. I know you don’t want to stay here any longer and I don’t want to be forced into this so I’ll tell you how we can actually get out of this but of course not without doing something first.”

“There’s a way for us to actually get out of this arrangement!?” Kyungsoo was surprised.

“Yes,” Chanyeol answered, “As you already know, the royal family currently only consists of my father and me since my mother passed away fifteen years ago. For the past six generations, we’ve only had alpha males born into our family. There hasn’t been a woman or a non-alpha born into our family for all those six generations now.”

“-but that shouldn’t be a problem. Aren’t alphas favored especially when it comes to the royal family that rules over a country?” Kyungsoo questioned, confused.

Chanyeol grouched, “That is true and would have been alright if we were female alphas who can also conceive and birth children like omega males like you too. But that is not the case. Here in Zerura, we can’t just force people to marry us nor have our children even if we’re royalty. My father, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers were rather unlucky in terms of their personal relationship and only managed to have children to secure an heir to the throne when they were already past their 30s and 40s. And even then, they only had one or two children, never more, who were all alpha male.”

Kyungsoo continued listening intently, feeling like he might know how this was taking its course.

Chanyeol continued, “Even so, their relationships never went along well and they lived in constant fear that their heir could just be taken or hidden away from them by the birthing parent. Somewhere along the line around my grandfather’s time, he started realizing that a woman or an omega could just easily conceive a child with someone else and not have to worry about the child being taken away from him because they would be the one conceiving and birthing the child. If a woman or an omega becomes the next rule of Zerura, they can easily secure an heir to the throne, unlike an alpha. You can tell that my grandfather was very disappointed when my father was born an alpha male, which I also am.”

Kyungsoo snickered, dryly, “That’s ironic. It seems like we were born into the wrong families then. My family would have loved you for being a firstborn alpha, while it appears that I would be treasured more if I was born into your family instead.”

“I am aware of that,” Chanyeol added, “I have sometimes imagined how different it would be if we actually swapped places since I learned that you are actually older than your sister but not first in line to the throne because you are an omega. Over here in Zerura, omegas can be the King or Queen so it’s not a problem for us but clearly, it isn’t like that in Vallis.”

“So if I’m guessing correctly, your father now expects you to have a child to continue the line to the throne, in hopes that they would be a woman or an omega?” Kyungsoo assumed, “Which is why you were promised for marriage from such a young age just in case you ran into similar problems as your fathers and forefathers did.”

Chanyeol chuckled dryly, fiddling around with a knight chess piece in his hand, “Indeed. Because I can’t give birth and because your mother didn’t want an omega, it was too convenient of an opportunity for our parents to not pass it off.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo looked to the side, feeling his heart sinking a little at hearing the truth he preferred to ignore, which was now coming out of someone else’s mouth. At this point, it was really an open secret that him being an omega actually mattered a lot in terms of his standing in the royal family.

“So here’s the deal,” Chanyeol pointed with the chess piece still in his hand, “If we don’t get married, we are not legally bound to each other and don’t have to go through all that hassle. That way, you can just leave Zerura and go anywhere you want without any legal troubles because if you marry me, you will have to assume your duties and responsibilities as a consort to the crown prince. You know abandoning the responsibility can be considered a form of high treason which will bring severe punishments.”

“-but wasn’t I here to be married to you?” Kyungsoo brought up.

“Yes, you were but the only purpose of the marriage was to produce an heir. We can have children and not have to get married actually. That is all just old culture. Don’t you want to return to Vallis eventually? Do you really want to stay here forever with a man you don’t love?” Chanyeol came up with the proposition. ”All I want is a child, Kyungsoo. I’m not even asking you to raise them. You can hand the baby to me once you give birth and go do whatever you please. You can even go home to Vallis having done your responsibility and your mother won’t press you about it anymore.”

Kyungsoo pressed his hand to his mouth, taking in and trying to process what Chanyeol had just told him. Clearly, this wasn’t the plan but an alternative route that led to the same results with an added perk that Kyungsoo didn’t even think of.

But what made this sound a whole lot better was that this time; he could actually choose to go along with this.

“What do we tell our parents though?” Kyungsoo inquired, “-when they ask us why we didn’t get married?”

“That’s simple,” Chanyeol made light of, “We’ll just use some excuse like wanting to get to know each other first. Once you get pregnant, they won’t even care about a wedding or marriage anyway since it will all be about the baby then. The baby will be a better symbol for the unity between our two nations instead of just being married to each other.”

“So I just have to get pregnant as fast as possible,” Kyungsoo pondered, already thinking of how he would be able to see Yixing and Baekhyun again if that was to happen.

“The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we get to go our own way and do what we want. I told you already, you don’t have to stay here and raise the child if you don’t want to. Since it is me who wants a child and not you,” Chanyeol responded.

“Right!” Kyungsoo shot up in his seat, straightening his back, “Then shouldn’t we get to it right now?”

Chanyeol laughed a little, “Not tonight, Kyungsoo. Tomorrow is fine. You just arrived after a long journey. Why don’t you rest tonight first? You need to be in good health if you’re going to have a baby, after all.”

“You’re right,” Kyungsoo smiled, slightly flushed because he was inexplicably shy at how gentle Chanyeol actually was towards him, “So…uh- tomorrow night then?”

“Yes, tomorrow night is good unless you’re not feeling it. I mean, you do know what we’re expected to do to conceive a baby, don’t you?” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, putting down the knight chess piece on the chessboard.

“Of course I do,” Kyungsoo confidently replied, “I’ve never done it but I’m not ignorant. I know these things.”

“That’s good,” Chanyeol smiled a little.

Kyungsoo too smiled, rather abashed especially when he noticed the way Chanyeol distinctively squinted and the crease around Chanyeol’s eyes when he smiled.

**

Kyungsoo slept in his new bed for the first time that evening. It still felt a bit odd to him because he wasn’t used to the entire arrangement yet, although knowing that he had already gotten on to a good start with Chanyeol was slightly reassuring that things would be alright.

Kyungsoo didn’t deny that he missed home and would rather be there, but he also knew that he would have to learn to adapt and adjust himself to this new life.

This was actually going better than he thought because right now, he actually had the option to get out of this whole arranged marriage situation without even getting married, although he would have to make a big contribution first which involved conceiving and birthing a child.

The following morning, Kyungsoo woke up around eight in the morning, later than usual because he went to bed quite late last night after talking to Chanyeol and because there was no one to wake him up either unlike back home in Vallis.

The curtains were still shut and had not been drawn open yet, which Yixing used to do for him every morning prior to waking Kyungsoo up.

The first thing Kyungsoo did after getting out of bed was to grab his glasses on the nightstand and then draw open the curtains. It wasn’t that bright yet at this time of the morning, although the sun was already up. The sunrise seemed to be a bit later here in Zerura. 

Kyungsoo saw that the windows of his room faced a hedge garden behind the palace with a water fountain built in the middle of it; one of the many well maintained gardens within the palace grounds.

Looking out at the garden under the soft light of the morning sun, Kyungsoo wondered how it was like now back in Verndina. He wondered how the weather was and what Baekhyun and Yixing were up to now that had to go back to their military position. Kyungsoo also wondered his mother and Seungwan felt with him away.

Then, Kyungsoo walked to the door of his room and opened it, to find a group of maids already waiting for him at the door with various things in their hand from brooms to stacks of folded clothes.

There were at least four maids dressed in their uniform and a man who was dressed differently in what looked like a palace’s guards uniform. He had a rather round face, a head of thick blond hair and was no taller than Kyungsoo was.

With a big smile and a hand on his chest, he bowed to Kyungsoo and greeted, “Good morning, your Highness. Might I introduce myself? My name is Kim Minseok and I am one of the personal assistants of His Highness the Crown Prince. I have been assigned to serve you in the meantime to make sure all your needs and wants are taken care of throughout your entire stay here.”

“Oh, I see,” Kyungsoo responded, “Good morning to you then, Minseok.”

Minseok nodded, “Do I and the servants have your permission to enter your room? We would like to clean up and serve you breakfast.”

“By all means, do so,” Kyungsoo allowed.

“Very well then,” Minseok nodded again and gestured towards the maids who began filing into the room, lowering their gaze and bowing their heads to Kyungsoo when they passed him by.

Minseok, himself, remained standing by the door while the maids moved to carry out their individual tasks such as fixing up Kyungsoo’s bed, laying out his clothes and serving him a tray of food and drinks on his desk.

Seeing this, Kyungsoo asked, “Do I not need to have my meals in a dining hall or room somewhere with Chanyeol?”

“No, your Highness,” Minseok affirmed, “Meals are commonly eaten alone wherever you please unless the Crown Prince specifically ordered otherwise.”

“Alright then,” Kyungsoo understood, seeing how different things were compared to back home, “Have you taken your breakfast too then?”

“You don’t have to be concerned if I, or any of the servants, have taken our meal. We are mere servants and you are royalty. You should be concerned only for your own wellbeing,” Minseok clarified.

“Is that so?” Kyungsoo responded, “I suppose it’s different here but I always have meals with my personal assistants whenever we can. I do hope that you have taken your meals then, Minseok.”

“If you really wish to know, the maids and I have indeed eaten our breakfast so please rest assured. We have our own meal times too,” Minseok answered, smiling a little, although Kyungsoo thought it seemed forced much like Chanyeol’s too.

“I am pleased to know that then,” Kyungsoo smiled, his own being genuine.

For the rest of the day, Kyungsoo did not see Chanyeol. Kyungsoo was told by Minseok that Chanyeol was busy attending to his engagements and duties, although he would be back in the evening for that night.

Kyungsoo was curious to know what Chanyeol did on a daily basis but he didn’t feel too comfortable to ask about it yet, even though Chanyeol was the same person whom he had agreed to be impregnated by beginning that night.

Kyungsoo already felt somewhat comfortable around Chanyeol, but they were still very much strangers.

Minseok accompanied Kyungsoo for the entire day, which was mostly spent showing Kyungsoo around the palace to get him to familiarize with the place and how things worked there.

As the first foreign royal groom-to-be in over two centuries, it was also Minseok’s duty to educate Kyungsoo about Zerura, the culture, people and how things were run here.

Minseok also told Kyungsoo about several places, not just inside the palace grounds but also outside in Alberta, which Kyungsoo could request to go to if he wished, under the condition that Chanyeol approved of the travel beforehand that is.

While they were in the palace’s library and Minseok was trying to show a map of Zerura and the key cities Kyungsoo needed to know of and their purpose, Kyungsoo decided to change the topic because he actually knew about this already through his own self-study.

“Say, Minseok, are you a beta?” Kyungsoo asked, much to Minseok’s surprise.

Minseok, taken by surprise from the abrupt question, paused with the pointing stick in his hand which he been using to point at a map on the wall, “That is true. I am a beta but why the sudden question, Your Highness?”

“Nothing, really,” Kyungsoo brushed it off, “I just wanted to know so I took a guess since you don’t seem like an alpha or an omega to me. So I thought you must be a beta.”

“Very well then,” Minseok attempted to continue when Kyungsoo broke his concentration again.

“So, Minseok, where in Zerura are you from?” Kyungsoo questioned, “Can you point it out to me on the map.”

Minseok paused, and then spoke, “I’m from Alberta so I’ve lived here all my life. Pardon me, but why are you asking me all these personal questions?” 

“I just thought I’d like to get to know you better now that I’m here,” Kyungsoo replied with a fat smile, “You know, I’m very good friends with my own personal assistants. Sometimes, I go home with them and their families during the holidays too.”

“Oh,” Minseok pondered, twirling his fingers around the pointing stick, “Are all the royalty from Vallis like that too?”

“Kind of,” Kyungsoo answered, “My mother and sister are very close and on good terms with their personal assistant and guards too.”

“Well, that does sound pleasant I suppose but it’s different here in Zerura. It is not like that here so you should be wary of the cultural differences,” Minseok clarified with a rather blank expression as he continued on.

When evening came and the sun had set at least a few hours ago, Kyungsoo was in his room writing a better and more composed letter to Baekhyun and Yixing. Kyungsoo had dinner alone by himself just earlier on.

Kyungsoo had reread what he wrote the previous night and now thought that the letter no longer reflected how he actually felt, since he had been feeling rather unsettled then but quite better now. Kyungsoo didn’t want Baekhyun and Yixing back home to worry about him if they misunderstood the contents of the letter he wrote while still high on his anxious emotions.

While Kyungsoo was still writing in his blue notebook, Minseok entered his room to inform Kyungsoo that Chanyeol had just arrived at the palace and would be expecting Kyungsoo in his room shortly.

Kyungsoo was also told that the bath had been prepared for him, with Minseok highly recommending that Kyungsoo take a bath before then. Clearly, Minseok also knew what it really meant by Chanyeol inviting Kyungsoo into his room for the rest of the night.

Kyungsoo complied, closing his book and getting up from the desk, allowing Minseok to walk him all the way to the bath, which was quite a ways from his room due to how big the palace was.

At the door, Minseok handed Kyungsoo two warm towels, a bathrobe and a spare change of clothes.

“I will be outside, let me know if you need anything and when you are ready, I shall take you to the Crown Prince,” Minseok informed, taking a bow and then closing the door to the bath.

It was actually the first time Kyungsoo had taken a bath since he arrived. There was actually a much smaller and private bathroom just next to his room but for some reasons, Minseok insisted that he used this larger and central bathroom in the middle of the palace.

The bathroom was at least the size of Kyungsoo’s room, maybe a bit smaller, although the ceilings appeared to be higher than in the bedrooms. The water was clear, warm and appeared to be greenish because of the tiled floors.

The bathtub was a circular sunken one into the floor, large enough for four to five people with stone pillars surrounding the sunken tub.

Incense was burning in the bathroom from a lantern hung from one of the pillars near the bathtub, emitting a small amount of smoke that filled the air with the scent of sandalwood with hints of cinnamon. 

Without hesitation, Kyungsoo stripped out of his clothes until he was naked, feeling the hairs on his skin stand due to the cold air which seemed to contrast the warm vapor he could feel rising from the tub.

If Kyungsoo were being honest, he was actually feeling quite tense and nervous despite how calm he appeared to be. Keeping up a cool and composed appearance was just something he was used to, despite the turbulent storm going on inside him.

However, Kyungsoo allowed himself some leeway to feel such a way because he was about to be faced with a huge responsibility of conceiving a baby, taking care of himself throughout the entire pregnancy and then birthing a baby that would not only liberate himself from having to marry Chanyeol but also to symbolize the alliance between their two countries.

Hoping the warm water would help calm him down, Kyungsoo stepped into the bathtub, where the water reached up to his waist level before sitting down on a ledge built into the wall of the tub to relax. Kyungsoo made sure to keep his hair dry because he didn’t want to go through the hassle of having to dry it later on.

The smell of the incense burning did seem to help too alongside the warm water that made his muscles feel less tense and relaxed.

Kyungsoo leaned his head back, closed his eyes and thought of home and what he would be normally doing at this time of the day if he were there. All the while, Kyungsoo tried to push out any anxious thoughts out of his head, although he didn’t deny that he still felt that way despite ignoring the thoughts.

Before he could feel heavy and sleepy, Kyungsoo knew it was time to get out of the water before he got too light-headed from sitting in it too long, also not wanting Chanyeol to wait too long for him.

Prior to getting out from the tub, Kyungsoo made sure to scrub himself lightly with a soft sponge to clean himself.

Kyungsoo wiped himself dry with the towels Minseok had handed him earlier before he proceeded to get dressed in front of a mirror with an intricate gold-colored frame. The clothes provided to him were a white shirt with a ruffled collar, black trousers and a red silk robe with gold linings.

Once Kyungsoo was dressed and wore the robe loose over his clothes, he noticed that there was a hairbrush on the countertop in front of the mirror. However, Kyungsoo chose to run his fingers through his short black hair to fix it instead, before exiting the bathroom, leaving him with a more natural-looking hairstyle.

Outside the bathroom in the hallway, Minseok was still waiting for him there with two other maids standing to his side.

Once Kyungsoo left the bathroom, a maid quickly entered with a broom and a pail in her hand, ready to clean the place. Meanwhile, the other maid continued to stand beside Minseok with a silver tray containing a sliced pomegranate fruit and a small glass containing what Kyungsoo thought to be honey.

“How was your bath, your Highness?” Minseok asked warmly, “Is there anything else you need? If not, I will take you to the Crown Prince’s chambers now.”

“Uh...it was relaxing,” Kyungsoo gaped for a moment, “-and yes, I am ready now.”

“Very well then,” Minseok nodded, picking up the sliced pomegranate with his gloved hand before handing it to Kyungsoo with both hands together, “It is recommended that you have this and the glass of honey we prepared especially for you before you see the Crown Prince. These foods are known to promote and boost fertility in omegas like you, Your Highness. It is usually ceremoniously consumed on the wedding night before the consummation of the marriage. Although that isn’t the case, I still thought it would be appropriate for tonight.”

Not wanting to be rude and turn down such an offer even though Kyungsoo still felt queasy at the idea of having sex with Chanyeol due to his inexperience at the whole matter, Kyungsoo willingly complied because he was able to see the bigger picture and how this would eventually benefit him.

Kyungsoo accepted the pomegranate Minseok handed to him and took a bite into the fruit, sucking the juice and seeds into his mouth while chewing a little before he swallowed.

The pomegranate was a bit sour and tasted sharp so Kyungsoo probably only had a quarter of the half portion he was given, before placing the fruit back down on the tray and then wiping off his mouth with a napkin.

Then, Kyungsoo proceeded to pick up the teaspoon on the tray the maid was holding out; scooping out at least two teaspoons of honey which he consumed straight up. The honey was only slightly sweet and mostly bland, leaving a rather distinct taste in Kyungsoo’s mouth which was familiar yet new to him.

After that, the maid left with the tray of half-eaten pomegranate and half-finished honey. Minseok then walked Kyungsoo down to the wing of the palace where Chanyeol’s room was located at; walking down the pristine hallways on polished tiled floors, with chandeliers hanging down from the high ceilings and row upon row of pillars.

With every click his and Minseok’s shoe made on the tiled floors, Kyungsoo felt himself inching closer and closer to a fate that wasn’t necessarily the best outcome but he at least had a say over.

The hallway they were walking down opened up into a larger annex of the palace which was relatively just a large empty space except for a few chairs and console tables against the walls. A few bust statues were also placed outside the room for decoration purposes. At one wall was a mahogany door which Minseok showed Kyungsoo to.

This part of the palace was quite far off from the other rooms and rather secluded.

“This is the Crown Prince’s private chambers,” Minseok announced before knocking on the door.

Kyungsoo nodded in silence, feeling jittery than ever especially when he heard Chanyeol’s voice telling them to come in from the other side of the door.

Minseok pulled down the handle to the door, pushing it open slightly and stepping aside to give Kyungsoo some space to walk inside, “This is where I see you off. I shall now leave you two alone. I will be back tomorrow morning at eight sharp. Have a pleasant night, your Highness.” Minseok bowed and then waited, holding the door open.

“Yes, thank you,” Kyungsoo replied, wanting to be polite and grateful as he hastily entered the room so Minseok could close it again from the outside and then retire for the night.

Kyungsoo had his head lowered when he entered Chanyeol’s bedroom and probably spent a good minute staring back at the door until he dared himself to turn around.

Kyungsoo’s eyes had adjusted to the dimmer lighting inside Chanyeol’s bedroom, which Kyungsoo found to actually be slightly smaller than his own. Because of the smaller size of Chanyeol’s room, everything seemed more private.

Almost everything in the room was red from the curtains to the bedsheets, of course. A mirror hung above the crackling fireplace and Chanyeol was seated on a sofa in front of the fire, with a wine glass in his hand.

Kyungsoo slowly approached Chanyeol to where the latter was seating, standing a few feet from the edge of the sofa.

“Do you want me to pour you a drink?” Chanyeol offered, rising up his glass, “You look a bit nervous. Maybe a drink or two will help you calm down before you do it since this is your first time and all.”

“No, I’m good,” Kyungsoo turned the offer down because he was abashed and not because he didn’t actually want it. In fact, Kyungsoo thought that it could certainly be helpful to him to have a drink at least.

“Very well then,” Chanyeol replied, downing the rest of the glass in several gulps and then wiping off the drops of wine stains on his mouth with the back of his hand.

Chanyeol stood up, facing the fireplace with his back turned to Kyungsoo as he took off the red robe he had been wearing, revealing a toned and muscular upper body and arms. Under the golden flame emitted by the fire, Chanyeol’s skin tone appeared sun-kissed and almost glowing. Chanyeol’s blond hair appeared like gold under the fire.

Kyungsoo thought Chanyeol was definitely attractive and someone he could see himself falling for if it weren’t for these circumstances.

However, it still didn’t change the fact that Kyungsoo would still not rather be here and not be doing this with Chanyeol.

Chanyeol was only now wearing his pants as he approached Kyungsoo and took the latter’s hand into his own. Slowly, Chanyeol guided Kyungsoo to the bed and sat the both of them down at the edge of the mattress blanketed by rufescent red sheets, facing each other.

Kyungsoo was trying to avoid Chanyeol’s gaze despite how close they were to each other. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was trying to get Kyungsoo to look at him.

“I know this is uncomfortable but you’ll have to get used to it. We don’t have to do this anymore once you get pregnant,” Chanyeol assured Kyungsoo, placing a reassuring hand at the side of Kyungsoo’s face, cupping the latter’s hand in his.

Kyungsoo’s heart was racing and he was on the verge of trembling even under a simple touch such as this. Right now, Kyungsoo doubted if he even wanted to do this because of how it made him felt. Planning it and actually doing it were two very different things that illicit two different kinds of emotions altogether.

Kyungsoo dared himself to look and his eyes fluttered upwards to look at Chanyeol whose face was just mere inches away from his.

“You’ll be alright. I won’t do anything you tell me not to and if you want me to stop, I will stop. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we’ll be done. So, are you ready?” Chanyeol continued to assure; putting his other hand on top of Kyungsoo’s which was resting on the mattress.

Kyungsoo took a deep breath, shuddering a little before composing himself and deciding to just go ahead with it. Kyungsoo’s voice croaked a little, “Yes, I am. Please.”

“Okay,” Chanyeol muttered, lifting Kyungsoo’s hand to his lips before pressing a kiss on Kyungsoo’s fingers. Chanyeol chuckled a little, smiling, “They taste a bit like pomegranate and honey. Did Minseok tell you to eat that?”

“Yes, how did you know?” Kyungsoo felt slightly eased up a little at the small talk that seemed to ground him into reality and not into the anxious thoughts in his head.

Chanyeol still smiled, “In the past few weeks before you came here, he kept telling me that he’d have you eat pomegranate and honey to promote fertility so you could get pregnant fast. Since he knows about my plan because I don’t really want to be forced into this whole marriage thing.”

“Well, it sounds like he does care for you a lot. I hope it works then,” Kyungsoo chuckled lowly, feeling much more comfortable now.

“Me too,” Chanyeol chimed in, tilting his face and parting his lips before leaning in to kiss Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo was unmoving at first, seemingly glued and stiff to his spot as he let Chanyeol kiss him.

Chanyeol pulled away fast, murmuring, “Close your eyes when you kiss.”

Doing as he was told to do so, Kyungsoo closed his eyes and allowed Chanyeol to kiss him again although he did not reciprocate it.

Chanyeol continued to kiss Kyungsoo as he undid the bow fastening the latter’s robe, pulling it open and down Kyungsoo’s shoulders.

Chanyeol only broke off from the kiss to help Kyungsoo out of the robe before moving on to unbutton Kyungsoo’s shirt.

Just somehow, Kyungsoo could feel that Chanyeol was very experienced and versed when it came to this but he didn’t wish to know the details.

Once Kyungsoo’s shirt came off too, Chanyeol moved Kyungsoo further up the bed and laid his head down on a pillow.

Kyungsoo looked up at Chanyeol from this new lying position before he realized what was about to happen, quickly averting his gaze to the side instead, where he was met with the sight of Chanyeol’s toned chest.

Chanyeol took off his pants, throwing it aside onto the back of a chair nearby. He then returned to the bed, fully naked as he peppered kisses along Kyungsoo’s jawline and down his neck all the way to the collarbone.

Kyungsoo was still breathing rapidly, although he tried making that not too obvious. Kyungsoo would have felt bad if he made Chanyeol uncomfortable too.

  
Chanyeol moved down lower, kissing Kyungsoo’s bare chest and down all the way to his navel. Once he arrived at Kyungsoo’s waistline, Chanyeol pulled back slightly so he could unbutton Kyungsoo’s trousers and throw them aside on the floor.

This time, Kyungsoo tried looking at Chanyeol to make things a little bit better for the both of them, afraid of making Chanyeol feel awkward if he was just to stare at the ceiling or the wall.

In a way, Kyungsoo was grateful that the room was dimly lit only by a few candles and the glow of the fireplace.

Chanyeol went back up to kiss Kyungsoo on the neck. Noticing how Kyungsoo’s hands were just lying flat on the bed at his sides, Chanyeol gently urged, “You can touch me, you know.”

Kyungsoo stirred, looking a bit surprised, “S-sure.”

Kyungsoo moved his hands from the bedsheets and onto Chanyeol’s shoulders, placing his hand on either of Chanyeol’s broad and strong shoulders. Kyungsoo allowed himself to explore Chanyeol’s chest and upper arms, feeling the warmth and sensation of Chanyeol’s bare skin on his palms.

It actually felt better than Kyungsoo would have thought and he was even beginning to feel quite turned on himself.

Chanyeol hovered above Kyungsoo, supporting his weight on his elbows at either side of Kyungsoo, grinding his hips and their hardening cocks onto each other. All the while, Chanyeol continued to litter Kyungsoo with kisses not only his lips but also on his neck.

When Chanyeol pulled away to catch his breath, Kyungsoo wrapped his arms on the back of Chanyeol’s neck before pulling him down to reciprocate the kiss this time.

Maybe it was the way Chanyeol looked out for Kyungsoo and how gentle he was being which gave Kyungsoo the comfort to also actively play a part in this, instead of just lying down there and letting Chanyeol take him.

Kyungsoo decided that he might as well enjoy himself while he was at it too. Sex was supposed to be a pleasurable activity for all parties involved, after all.

Kyungsoo too moved his hips upwards to meet Chanyeol’s grinding movements, allowing them to feel more of that pleasurable friction from their cocks being rubbed against each other.

Chanyeol put a hand between their bodies which were beginning to sweat, holding their cocks against each other as he groaned when skin rubbed against skin. The lubrication from his pre-cum and maybe their sweat too seemed to make everything easier.

Both Kyungsoo’s body and his voice shuddered under Chanyeol’s touch and the stimulation he was experiencing for the first time.

With each further movement Chanyeol made, Kyungsoo found himself unconsciously spreading his legs even wider to accommodate Chanyeol between them as he got wetter by the second.

An omega trait was the ability to self-lubricate when aroused or stimulated so as to ease sexual intercourse. It was basically nature’s way of saying that omegas were the way they were for the sole purpose of breeding and reproduction.

Honestly, Kyungsoo was way being past angry at that because it was not something he could control; which was why he went to far lengths and put in tremendous effort to shake off that “submissive omega meant for breeding” image which nature dictated upon him.

Admittedly, he did feel a bit low to succumbing himself to a fate of such. But if it meant that getting pregnant and giving birth was something that would free him from the very same fate, Kyungsoo would bite the bullet in reach of the bigger picture.

Once Chanyeol felt that he was hard enough and his cock began to twitch for the tight heat of a birthing hole, he leaned back on his ankles where he was rewarded with the view of a flushed and panting Kyungsoo beneath him.

If Kyungsoo was turned on from Chanyeol’s touches, Chanyeol was also turned on but at the sight of Kyungsoo, spread out and flushed beneath him.

Chanyeol ran the length of his index finger up and down Kyungsoo’s wet hole, gently prodding the tip of his finger against the tight ring of muscles at the entrance.

Kyungsoo let out a low whining sound when he felt a fingertip brush against his hole, being so close to penetrating him but not yet doing so either. Kyungsoo was so pent up and horny that he wanted nothing more than something to fill him up inside.

Kyungsoo ached for pleasure.

Not wanting to drag it out further either, Chanyeol complied with Kyungsoo’s non-verbal request and inserted his middle finger into Kyungsoo before quickly adding a second finger inside. Chanyeol’s fingers went in rather easily without much resistance, although Kyungsoo was beginning to feel the stretch already.

Kyungsoo’s hips bucked upwards, driving Chanyeol’s fingers inside him even deeper, the heel of his feet firmly digging into the mattress for leverage as Kyungsoo sought for that pleasure.

Kyungsoo threw his head back against the pillow, his back arching off the mattress as a strangled cry was let out from between his lips. Chanyeol was pressing his two fingers within Kyungsoo against his inner walls, sliding them in and out and applying pressure to the parts which elicited the sultriest response from Kyungsoo.

With another hand, Chanyeol gently caressed the sides and curves of Kyungsoo’s body, down his stomach and all the way to the curve of his hips, grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s smaller neglected cock before giving it a few tugs.

Chanyeol’s hand were way bigger and wider than Kyungsoo’s and this was a whole new experience by itself,

In male omegas, a penis was merely for urinating and served no further purpose than that. They were only able to ejaculate semen but without sperm as their bodies produced none of those.

After a few more strokes on Kyungsoo’s cock and fingering him into an almost whimpering mess, Chanyeol removed both his hands from Kyungsoo so he could lean over and kiss him again on the side of his neck, this time feverously as he breathed hot air down Kyungsoo’s throat.

Kyungsoo tilted his head sideways, exposing his neck for Chanyeol to do so. It felt almost natural, as if Kyungsoo knew what to do now.

Then, Chanyeol propped himself back up, leaning back against his ankles as he gave his own erection a few more languid strokes before lining up the head of his cock against the rim of Kyungsoo’s wet and aroused hole.

Kyungsoo gasped, his pupils dilating and his hands flying up to claw on Chanyeol’s back when he felt the initial breach of Chanyeol’s cock penetrating him past the tight ring of muscles near the entrance.

Kyungsoo moaned as he was being split open on Chanyeol’s cock. Kyungsoo never felt this full and so aroused in all of his life.

“I’m going to move now,” Chanyeol announced, his own voice coming out in short, staggered breaths once he bottomed out inside Kyungsoo. Chanyeol had to personally restrain himself from just slamming his hips forward and back out from Kyungsoo, whatnot with how warm and tight Kyungsoo felt on his cock.

With eyes closed, Kyungsoo nodded, biting his lower lip.

Chanyeol didn’t waste any more time before he began thrusting into Kyungsoo, starting off slow and eventually picking up his pace.

Chanyeol held onto Kyungsoo’s legs, holding them into position. Chanyeol lifted one of Kyungsoo’s legs to his shoulder, hooking Kyungsoo’s ankle to his shoulder as he pushed open the other leg planted on the bed so he could have a better thrusting angle that would be even more delightful for the both of them.

Chanyeol’s dimly lit room under the glow of the fireplace was emanating with the sounds of pleasurable sighs and moans coming from both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, seemingly echoing off of the wallpaper-decorated walls.

The bed, although sturdy, creaked slightly when Chanyeol pushed forward and thrust a bit harder than usual.

Chanyeol panted with gasped breaths, thrusting and pistoning his hips into Kyungsoo as he fucked the latter into the mattress. Several beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.

Kyungsoo had one hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder, his nails digging into Chanyeol’s skin and another hand grabbing the silk red bed sheets like he was clinging onto it for dear life. Kyungsoo was mewling, his voice coming out in a rather high pitch as he found himself not really in control of the verbal sounds he was making anymore.

All Kyungsoo could register on his brain at the time was the way Chanyeol’s dick was filling him up and the weight of it pressed deep and heavily within him.

Kyungsoo was almost feverish from all he was getting and Chanyeol appreciated that too from his end.

Although their main mission was to conceive a baby, there was certainly no harm in allowing themselves to enjoy the activity despite how much they personally detested what fate had laid out for them.

It was Chanyeol who came first, thrusting even faster and at a more erratic pace when he felt the familiar pleasurable pressure rising from his balls, upwards to his cock and finally ending when he spurted ropes of cum deep inside Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol continued gasping for air, slowing his hips down to a still as he released Kyungsoo’s legs from his hold to place a hand down on the mattress for support, planting his palm down near the side of Kyungsoo’s head.

Looking down to where their hips met and how his softening cock was still sheathed within Kyungsoo, where some of his cum managed to leak out Kyungsoo’s ass and trail down the curve, Chanyeol realized that Kyungsoo had not cum yet himself.

Knowing what he needed to do next, Chanyeol removed his hand from the mattress to grab onto Kyungsoo’s reddened and sore cock which had been neglected for the most part of that night.

For Chanyeol, it was common decency to make sure the needs of his sex partner was taken care of, which included ensuring that they achieved orgasm especially if he had already got to it before them. Otherwise, Chanyeol didn’t personally believe it could even be called “sex” if only one person were to really derive pleasure from it.

Kyungsoo’s hips bucked uncontrollably into Chanyeol’s touch the moment the latter’s hand gripped onto his leaking cock, firm but yet still gentle to the touch.

Chanyeol proceeded to jerk Kyungsoo off, moving his wrist up and down the length of Kyungsoo’s cock. Kyungsoo’s own natural lubrication was helping make the whole thing easier.

Beneath Chanyeol, Kyungsoo was still splayed out on the bed like a sweaty starfish looking utterly fucked out and still trying to regain his breath.

Kyungsoo didn’t have the opportunity to recover his composure or come down from the rush of tantalizing sensations when Chanyeol was now helping get him off. Chanyeol was determined that the night wouldn’t be over until Kyungsoo too managed to cum.

Kyungsoo moaned loudly, now extremely sensitive as jolts of pleasure brought on by Chanyeol’s touch traveled down from the length of his cock and down to the base of his spine.

Kyungsoo was able to feel his orgasm approaching but it still hit him unexpectedly because moments just before it happened, Kyungsoo’s head seemed to blank out and he was only left with a haze of pleasure and the need to reach his climax.

Kyungsoo finally came, spilling slick and cum onto his own stomach and onto Chanyeol’s hand. Unlike alphas and regular male betas whose cum spurted out from their cocks, male omegas gushed from the slit of their cocks much like their female counterparts.

Satisfied that Kyungsoo had come too, Chanyeol removed his hand from Kyungsoo’s sensitive cock, wiping the cum and slick off on the red silk bed sheets. A maid would come the next day to clean it up anyway, Chanyeol thought.

Kyungsoo rolled over onto his stomach on the large bed, stained with cum all over his lower half and leaking out of his ass.

Chanyeol had gotten up to retrieve a towel and he was now standing at the edge of the bed, holding out the warm towel for Kyungsoo to wipe himself with. Chanyeol was also now dressed in a night robe he had put on, although most of his chest was still exposed from the messily done bow to fasten the robe.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo muttered, half sitting up on the bed as he accepted the towel from Chanyeol.

“You can stay here for the night. I’ll sleep in another room so I won’t bother you,” Chanyeol mentioned.

“Oh, but isn’t this your r-,” Kyungsoo wasn’t able to finish his question when Chanyeol already turned around and was headed out of the room.

Kyungsoo was left feeling a bit confused, alone in Chanyeol’s room, although he did quite understand why Chanyeol acted like that. They were certainly not lovers and barely even friends to be sleeping in the same bed together despite the fact that Chanyeol had been balls deep within Kyungsoo to put a baby in there.

In fact, it was actually common for people especially in the upper class and royalty to sleep separately most of the time even when married. Sharing a sleeping arrangement was more of a lower and middle-class thing in the world they lived in.

It wasn’t really a strange concept for Kyungsoo but somehow, he found himself maybe yearning for more of that intimacy and being slightly bit disappointed that it didn’t happen.

But Kyungsoo reminded himself that he wasn’t there to make friends or fall in love with the alpha of his dreams, who probably didn’t even exist in the first place. He was there to carry out his duty for the sake of both countries and millions of people.

Kyungsoo managed to push the thoughts out of his head and slept rather soundly in Chanyeol’s bed until he was awoken the next morning by Minseok, feeling rather sore especially around his thighs and groin.

Then, it dawned on Kyungsoo that this would probably go on for a bit longer until he finally managed to conceive a baby.


	3. Carmine

Two weeks since Kyungsoo left Vallis and arrived in Zerura, he was gradually getting adjusted to his new life in this island country, although Kyungsoo was far from accepting that this was his fate. He was merely tolerating it for the time being and could not wait until the day he got to leave and return home.

It was now early April and winter had ended, bringing in spring. In the past over two weeks, Kyungsoo had sex with Chanyeol at least six times already, with Chanyeol leaving after every time they were done. Most of the times, they did it in Kyungsoo’s room and sometimes, they did it in Chanyeol’s room with him insisting on leaving after despite it being his room.

Kyungsoo was honestly fine with this because he wasn’t here to fall in love and be subservient to Chanyeol. He was here to perform his duties for the sake of his country.

It was still too early to determine if Kyungsoo was pregnant yet if he was that is.

Kyungsoo also eventually met Jongdae, who had just returned from an official trip overseas after Kyungsoo had already been there at Chanyeol’s palace for over a week.

Jongdae was to Chanyeol what Baekhyun and Yixing were to Kyungsoo. He was Chanyeol’s personal assistant and guard when it came to official matters, unlike Minseok who oversaw more of the household affairs and management.

Jongdae was a beta like Minseok, which was unsurprising as betas made up the majority of the human population. Jongdae had brown hair which was always neatly combed and styled and was around a similar height to Kyungsoo and Minseok too.

When Kyungsoo was invited to have tea or brunch with Chanyeol while he was still in his office at the palace, Jongdae was always there watching with an observant eye as if he was mentally taking note of every move Kyungsoo made.

Even when Kyungsoo was just sitting down and doing nothing much, and Jongdae happened to be in the same room, Kyungsoo did catch on at the feeling of being watched by Jongdae for some reasons.

It was sometime in the evening and they were waiting for Minseok to come and announce to them that dinner was ready so they could eat. While they weren’t doing anything else in the meantime, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were waiting in the drawing room while entertaining themselves to a game of chess.

During the day, Chanyeol was usually always busy in his office or outside attending to official royal duties, leaving Kyungsoo to explore the palace or reading books to spend the time, with Minseok following him around.

Sometimes, Kyungsoo only really saw Chanyeol at night when it was time for them to have sex. In a way, Kyungsoo sort of felt like a concubine, even though he knew that he wasn’t.

It was actually uncommon for them to actually spend some time together like this so Kyungsoo was actually interested in getting to know Chanyeol on a deeper level. Meanwhile, Chanyeol was too engrossed in the chess game and all he really wanted to do was to win the game before dinner.

This was their second round of chess and Kyungsoo had won the first round in less than half an hour.

This time around, Kyungsoo had cornered Chanyeol into a tight spot. Although Chanyeol’s king chess piece remained relatively secure with several other pieces still in the guard of the king, Kyungsoo had also strategically advanced onto Chanyeol’s side of the board with pieces that could potentially take Chanyeol’s king down in several moves despite where he moved his pieces next.

It appeared that Kyungsoo had thought everything through, leaving no corners unguarded and putting him in a mobile position no matter which path he chose to take with his pieces.

Although it was just a game, Chanyeol was very much visibly disgruntled.

Chanyeol leaned forward on the armchair he was seated on, his elbow pressed to his thigh, his chin perched on the back of his palm. Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes looking on rather intensely at the chess game in progress laid out in front of him.

When Chanyeol had first stepped into the drawing room that evening, his hair was neatly combed and pushed back but now a few strands had come undone and he was starting to look rather disheveled. Whatnot with how Chanyeol tended to tensely run his fingers through his hair, grabbing onto some of the locks while he appeared to stress a lot on the chess game.

Kyungsoo sat on the armchair across from Chanyeol, rather relaxed and comfortable, on the contrary, while Chanyeol looked he might be able to pop a vein in his head from the tension only he was experiencing.

Kyungsoo noticed this, of course. It was not the first time he had encountered people like Chanyeol. While he used to be annoyed, Kyungsoo was now simply just tired of dealing with the kind of people Chanyeol reminded him of. 

Even Jongdae, who was just sitting on a different chair and reading a book, could sense the tenseness Chanyeol was radiating, despite it just being a simple game of chess with nothing really at stake. But Jongdae was so used to this by now in all the years he had served Chanyeol.

As a young omega who was pretty smart and adept in his skill set, who often had to work around older alphas or betas, Kyungsoo was used to being undermined simply because of the biological identity he was born with.

He was often overlooked and challenged with the things he knew well and was fluent in simply because it was hard for others to believe that a young omega like him would be able to stand at a level similar to them.

Although that never stopped Kyungsoo from improving himself and continuing to prove his self-worth, he had learned to adapt people like these just to tolerate them so he could continue to ignore their ridicule and create less trouble for himself.

Kyungsoo was actually hungry and very much looking forward to dinner. But seeing how Chanyeol was stressing over a simple game of chess he was losing in, Kyungsoo could probably guess that Chanyeol wasn’t going to let him go and eat; until the game was over or even worse, until Chanyeol managed to somehow win and prove that he could beat Kyungsoo at chess.

Minseok had entered the drawing room to inform that dinner was ready but Chanyeol waved him off and said that he wouldn’t be eating until he finished the game. Although Chanyeol made no direct reference to Kyungsoo, he knew that he wasn’t allowed to leave either until Chanyeol got it his way.

Wanting it to just be over with, Kyungsoo only moved non-crucial pieces at play that he knew would most likely be eaten by Chanyeol’s pieces or was least likely to checkmate Chanyeol’s king. On a chessboard, any piece, even a pawn was able to checkmate a king if played properly.

Kyungsoo had even heard of an eastern form of chess that allowed even the lowest of pawns to be promoted if they managed to advance far enough into enemy territory.

Both Chanyeol and especially Kyungsoo were well aware of this fact because such a concept was very much possible in real life too.

In a way, it inspired and taught Kyungsoo that despite being an omega that was often overlooked because of the fact, he too could possibly try his hardest and best to move out of an undermined position.

Which was why Kyungsoo had a certain kind of fondness towards chess which led to him often playing it and hence, becoming rather good at it, although he didn’t think he was close to being a professional player.

Although it was against chess rules to put one’s king in a position that would “kill” it, Kyungsoo allowed and made little efforts to stop the advancement of Chanyeol’s pieces that would eventually checkmate his king.

With victory now siding towards Chanyeol because Kyungsoo allowed that to happen, Kyungsoo saw Chanyeol’s tenseness easing up and his stressed expression turning into one that was more pleased and at ease.

Kyungsoo couldn’t tell for sure but it was as if he caught from the corner of his eye, Chanyeol trembling out of joy at victory in a chess game literally being handed into his hands.

“Checkmate,” Chanyeol gleefully announced, making sure to place the said chess piece hard down on the board with an audible clink that even Jongdae was able to hear from the other end of the drawing room.

Kyungsoo looked up from his board and towards Chanyeol who had a smug smirk on his face. Kyungsoo pretended to whine and groan, sighing, “Well, it’s my loss then.”

Kyungsoo’s faked expression elicit an even stronger emotion from Chanyeol, who was very proud of what he thought he had achieved.

Kyungsoo just hoped that Chanyeol never found out how he technically rigged the game.

Kyungsoo then took Chanyeol’s hand without even being offered it and shook the crown prince of Zerura’s hand with a firm grip, “Congratulations. That was a good game. It was a pleasure. I shall now have my dinner.”

Although Kyungsoo did come off as rather sarcastic, which earned him a glare from Jongdae who peered from behind the book he was reading, even from the other end of the drawing room; Chanyeol didn’t seem to think that way and genuinely accepted the compliment.

Kyungsoo left by himself to have dinner in the dining hall, following Minseok who had been waiting outside the drawing room the entire time. Kyungsoo was too hungry to be bothered for Chanyeol anymore.

Once Kyungsoo had left, Jongdae put his book away and stride across the room to stand beside Chanyeol’s armchair.

“Shall I escort you so you can have your dinner, your Highness?” Jongdae asked with his hands behind his back.

“I shall go in a while,” Chanyeol replied, cracking his knuckles and stretching his fingers.

“Very well, is there anything you’d like?” Jongdae nodded.

“Not for now,” Chanyeol responded, glaring upwards at Jongdae standing beside his chair, “Just continue to watch over Kyungsoo as usual. Keep me updated on what he does and who he talks to. Make sure no one else but me is impregnating him. Remember to stick to our mission. I don’t trust him so I can’t risk that.”

“Understood, I shall take my leave now then to trail after Prince Kyungsoo,” Jongdae affirmed.

“Yes, you can go,” Chanyeol permitted.

After Jongdae left the room, leaving Chanyeol alone in there, he smiled to himself thinking that he was finally in control of how things were doing. So far, things were going as he planned them to be.

**

As the days got longer and warmer in the spring, Chanyeol started bringing Kyungsoo more outside of the palace so he could see and experience Zerura firsthand. On Chanyeol’s behalf, maybe he was really trying to show off to Kyungsoo that he was a Crown Prince of such a prosperous and progressive nation despite the small population and landmass when compared to Vallis.

Kyungsoo himself was getting bored of staying indoors in the palace, having run out of books to read and board games to play with Chanyeol, Minseok or Jongdae; depending on who was following him around. Whoever it was, Kyungsoo was never left alone throughout his entire stay in Zerura so far, except for when he was in the privacy of his own room.

It was now mid-April and almost a month since Kyungsoo first arrived in Zerura. Kyungsoo had written several letters he sent out not only to Baekhyun and Yixing but also his mother and sister.

Despite sending the letters weeks earlier, Kyungsoo never got a reply and Vallis had seemingly made no efforts in trying to contact him either, leaving Kyungsoo to think that it was his own country that had cut him off.

Kyungsoo had faith that Baekhyun and Yixing would write back to him but as public servants of Vallis, they were still bound to the orders of those above them and if someone higher than Kyungsoo in Vallis had ordered them to cease contact with him, there wasn’t much else Kyungsoo could do.

It made Kyungsoo quite upset to think about it but he was slightly comforted in believing that this was all just temporary and would eventually come to an end.

One of the places Chanyeol brought Kyungsoo to was the Drasus academy, Zerura’s most prestigious military academy where only the best cadets are sent to study at before becoming military officers.

As a country which focused a lot on their military strength, being able to enter Drasus academy was already considered an impressive achievement by most of the Zerurians. Chanyeol was proud to call himself a graduate of Drasus academy too.

The Drasus academy campus was located on a mountain in the outskirts of Alberta, almost an hour’s drive from the city center. The academy was over a hundred years old and had some historical buildings on the campus, although some of it was newer and had been refurbished since then.

When Chanyeol and Kyungsoo came to visit, it was spring break and most of the students and staff were also on holiday. Most of the facilities on campus were also closed due to the lack of staff.

That didn’t stop Chanyeol from wanting to take Kyungsoo on a tour around his alma mater, making sure to show Kyungsoo all the achievement trophies with his name on the plaques which were displayed in a trophy room in the academy.

Jongdae was accompanying the both of them, always at least ten to twenty steps behind Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, never walking ahead of them or talking unless he was prompted to.

One of the trophies Chanyeol had earned for the academy while he was studying there was for winning a fencing championship about six years ago.

“You know,” Chanyeol explained, “Hundreds of years ago in this country, a lot of strife and contests against two parties were settled in fencing or swordfight duels. Whoever won would be declared the winner and the loser would be subjected to them, which is why people trained not only their sons but also their daughters to be good in the art of fencing and sword fighting. But of course, it is no longer practice today in favor of the court of law but the sport still remains for competitive reasons, which is why I was also trained in it.”

Upon hearing this and seeing Chanyeol’s trophy in the case, Kyungsoo pointed it out, “So, do you still fence?”

“I still do occasionally as a hobby but I don’t do it competitively anymore,” Chanyeol answered, proud that Kyungsoo was addressing his achievements.

“I see,” Kyungsoo nodded, admiring the other trophies on display in the glass case.

“Why? Are you interested in trying it out too?” Chanyeol asserted.

“Oh, it’s just that I did a lot of fencing too while I was back home. I never did it competitively though,” Kyungsoo replied.

“Well, do you want to try and have a friendly duel against each other?” Chanyeol suggested, “It’s probably been a while since your last time too, hasn’t it?”

“I’d love too if that were possible,” Kyungsoo lightened up, reminiscing all the fencing lessons and duels he had with Baekhyun, Yixing and even Seungwan.

“Don’t worry. That can be arranged. This academy has all the equipment needed for a duel. If you want a duel, then let’s have it,” Chanyeol complied, already anticipating a match with Kyungsoo because he was a competitive man who would jump on any opportunity that posed as a challenge to him.

Chanyeol promptly turned to Jongdae who was wearing a brown suit and tie, quickly ordering Jongdae to make sure preparations were made for them to have a private fencing duel on the academy’s campus by the hour.

Jongdae bowed to Chanyeol, muttering, “Very well, Your Highness,” before politely excusing himself and jogging out of the trophy room to find a facilitator who was on campus who could help him arrange such a thing.

If Kyungsoo didn’t know it before, he was now gradually learning that Chanyeol was really a proud and competitive man the more he got to know the Crown Prince of Zerura.

It didn’t take quite long for Jongdae to arrange for the academy’s gymnasium to be used as the location of the fencing duel. Since the gymnasium was often used for the student’s fencing training and duels, the playing area known as the piste was already readily available.

Jongdae had also borrowed two sets of protective gear from the academy that could fit Chanyeol and Kyungsoo’s sizes respectively.

As there were three types of weapons that could be used in a fencing match, each with its own individual rules and strategies, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo decided to mutually agree on a saber as it happened to be the one they were most comfortable with.

Jongdae also borrowed two sabers from the academy for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to use during the match. Jongdae would also have to serve as the only judge for the match when there should usually be four in an official duel.

After the duel was officiated by Jongdae, the empty gymnasium was filled with the sounds of their shoes sneaking on the surface of the piste, echoing off of the smooth walls and the high ceilings. Although less audible from an observer’s viewpoint, under the protective helmets they wore, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were both breathing harder than at rest, even if they were both used to this sport and was thus far from being strained from it.

The steel blades of their sabers clanged against each other whenever they made contact in an attempted thrust or a parry, although none had yet to “touch” their bodies which would constitute as a point for the one able to make contact with the other. In the saber form of fencing, a point would be awarded to any contact above the waist.

As this was not an official match, they had decided that whoever scored five points first would win the duel.

Jongdae stood a distance from them but at a center position from where he could observe both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo in the match. His head often turned from left to right and then back again to properly evaluate the duel.

When contact was made, Jongdae would announce whichever party was the one who was awarded the score and so far, Jongdae was a bit pleased that Chanyeol had yet to “contest” the points he had been awarding to Kyungsoo.

Because when fencing against other people no matter in official or unofficial matches, Chanyeol had the tendency to contest points especially when in an occasion where both players made contact with each other at the same time. And Jongdae had often been the witness to Chanyeol’s spat with the referee’s regarding that since their time together at Drasus academy.

The duel was rather fast-paced and although Jongdae wasn’t really keeping track of the time, it didn’t felt like it was long until Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were neck and neck against each other at match point with four points each, awarding the victory to whoever earned the next point.

Under his helmet, Chanyeol was scrunching his forehead, eyes glaring at Kyungsoo from behind the grilled mask. Beads of sweat were already trailing down from his forehead and temple. His breathing was hard and strained as he was trying to formulate a strategy on the spot, aided by his past experiences in fencing to ensure he would win this duel.

Although Chanyeol had an advantage by being taller, which granted him a wider range and reach; Kyungsoo still proved to be a challenge as he was faster with better footwork and stability compared to Chanyeol.

On the other end of the piste, Kyungsoo already his own set of strategy in which he thought would allow him to defeat Chanyeol, although he didn’t care too much about winning the duel or not.

With skilled footwork, Kyungsoo managed to put himself in a position within a stabbing range of the saber to Chanyeol. With his primary right hand that gripped onto the saber, Kyungsoo lunged it forward to make a stabbing move that would hit Chanyeol square in the chest.

However, in the split second of the rapid thrusting move, Kyungsoo hesitated and gave Chanyeol an opportunity to parry the move. While Kyungsoo remained distracted at something, Chanyeol swooped in for a hit near Kyungsoo’s shoulder and managed to land the final winning point that granted victory of the impromptu duel to him.

“Yes!” Chanyeol pumped his left fist up in the joy of the victory, removing his helmet and turning to look at Jongdae who clapped and nodded his head back at Chanyeol. All the while, Chanyeol had the biggest, most pleased grin on his face.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, removed his helmet but had his face turned away from Jongdae and Chanyeol. His breathing was rapid and his heart was pounding but it was not from the rigorous match he just had.

It was because of the fact that at the final moment before Kyungsoo lunged his saber in towards Chanyeol’s chest, Kyungsoo realized that he was actually aiming for Chanyeol’s heart with the thought that if he somehow died, Kyungsoo would be free to return home and didn’t have to do all of this.

Fencing was a risky sport and accidents tend to happen despite all the safety measures against it. Kyungsoo was well aware of this and now, he felt even scared to know that he was the same person who possessed such dark thoughts.

Sure, Chanyeol could get annoying and pressing on his patience at times but he didn’t seem too bad of a person and Kyungsoo would never wish something as strong as death on him.

When Chanyeol came to Kyungsoo to shake his hand for the duel in the spirit of sportsmanship, Kyungsoo awkwardly faked a smile to pretend that he was alright and that he just didn’t have thoughts of stabbing Chanyeol in the heart.

Jongdae later helped Kyungsoo out of his fencing suit too and he too tried hard to avoid the former’s gaze and questions despite how harmless they were.

Because Kyungsoo felt like he was always being observed by Jongdae, he was incessantly worried if Jongdae somehow caught on to Kyungsoo’s almost attempt to kill Chanyeol. Although that was extremely unlikely unless Jongdae was to somehow have mind-reading abilities.

Like in Vallis, attempting to murder royalty or an important person in the government in Zerura was equal to committing high treason, which brought upon a death penalty if found guilty of.

Kyungsoo would be damned if that was how he would die, being executed by a foreign power and dying on their lands to boot. He had too much pride as a Vallisean for that to happen.

Needless to say, the drive back from the academy and back to Alberta was quiet. Chanyeol actually dozed off in the car, Jongdae traveled in another car and Kyungsoo spent his time looking out the window mostly staring at his own reflection and pondering on the thoughts he never thought he’d have.

But somehow, Kyungsoo didn’t feel like those thoughts didn’t belong to him at all. They were surely his own; as if coming from a part of himself he had locked and hidden away from others for so long.

**

Kyungsoo’s stay in Zerura eventually came to two months. Sex with Chanyeol as part of their attempt to conceive a baby still went on at least two to three times a week as Kyungsoo appeared to not have conceived yet.

A trait unique to omega males was that they experienced periods too as women would. So far, Kyungsoo had been having his on time every month, showing no signs of pregnancy yet.

Every month, Kyungsoo would be counting the days and hoping every time that he’d miss a period so that it was one more step closer to him being able to go home.

Two months was still a bit too soon and even if he conceived, it wouldn’t be known until he missed a period the following month. However, Kyungsoo feared when two months turned into three and then four and so forth without a sign of pregnancy.

His main goal being there was to have a baby and Kyungsoo wasn’t looking forward to failing in that. Kyungsoo didn’t want to disappoint and not deliver his part of the deal with Chanyeol. Kyungsoo also didn’t want to lose the only opportunity that would also allow him to finally return home.

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s relationship hadn’t really changed much, if at all. They appeared to be cordial with each other and Kyungsoo could say that they were “friends” since they got along, although it was Kyungsoo mostly being patient and tolerating Chanyeol.

They did share solidarity in being stuck in a similar predicament so there was that.

The only thing that made their relationship with each other distinct than what two friends of around the same age would have, was how they had a sexual relationship with each other and were trying very hard to conceive a baby that should hopefully put them out of that said predicament.

During the day, Chanyeol was usually away as he had work to tend to, taking Jongdae along with him when he did so. Kyungsoo still wasn’t exactly sure what it was Chanyeol did but he knew it had to deal with public administration and royal duties at the King’s official office in Alberta.

Since Chanyeol’s father, the actual King had been away even since before Kyungsoo arrived in Zerura two months ago, Chanyeol had been taking care of his father’s duties for the most part, especially for public ceremonies, officiating, banquets and welcoming foreign dignitaries on official visits.

Although the palace was large with lots of rooms and utilities for Kyungsoo to make use of, with a lot of staff and people around for him to talk to, Kyungsoo still eventually got bored and thought it would be a waste if all he did was sit in the palace all day while he waited for Chanyeol to come home in the evening so they could have sex.

On top of that, Kyungsoo thought it was rather of a shame if he was currently living in such a scenic location but never took the time to explore the outdoors. Zerura had a distinct geographical landscape than Vallis but it was beautiful too in its own way, Kyungsoo thought.

Heaven’s Lake which was just outside the palace, surrounded by the mountain ranges were a landmark location in Zerura. It was popular for paintings and in photographs not only in Zerura but also in Vallis and the surrounding countries.

Now, Kyungsoo had to the opportunity to live just beside it and he wanted to make use of that for as long as he could.

Outside of the palace’s compounds and near the edge of Heaven’s Lake was a cabin often used by the staff of the palace. The royal family had their own personal cabin not far from the staff’s cabin, which was larger and more luxurious.

As an official guest of Chanyeol, Kyungsoo was allowed to make use of the royal cabin but he chose to hang out around the staff cabin.

It was a nice cool late morning in late May. Because of Heaven’s Lake irregular shape, the part where the cabin was built near at, was a cove that made the location more secluded. Tall pine trees also grew near the cabin. Outside the cabin, a wooden platform above the lake was built for fishing or recreation.

Because of the rather cloudy sky above and the depth of the lake, the surface of the water in the cove appeared rather grey, although it was calm and still. A breeze blew occasionally, rustling the leaves on the pine trees and howling a bit in Kyungsoo’s air, tossing his dark hair around with it.

Kyungsoo was lounging on a wooden chair on the wooden platform above the water, with his blue notebook in his lap as he was writing another letter addressed to his family and friends back in Vallis.

Despite never getting a reply from the first letter he sent out to them, Kyungsoo did not give up yet and wanted them to at least know he was doing alright, even if he didn’t get to hear from them back for whatever the reasons were.

Kyungsoo wasn’t alone as usual but at least he was free from Jongdae’s prying eye, who was supposed to be at work with Chanyeol. Minseok was accompanying him this time and at least Kyungsoo found him less intrusive than Jongdae.

Minseok was standing on the wooden platform with Kyungsoo, several feet away, waiting for Kyungsoo and attending to his requests if there were any. On a small table beside the wooden chair Kyungsoo sat on, Minseok had poured out some tea and cakes so Kyungsoo had refreshments available.

Kyungsoo had been too absorbed in writing the letter as he thought about home and the people he left behind to realize that Minseok had turned around to greet another two more people that had just arrived.

Chanyeol, accompanied by Jongdae had arrived outside the staff cabin and near the wooden platform above the water at the edge of the lake.

Jongdae waited on land, not stepping onto the platform while Chanyeol did so and approached to where Kyungsoo and Minseok were, the heels of his dress shoe clicking against the wooden floorboards.

Only then, Kyungsoo noticed the presence of someone else other than him and Minseok there. Kyungsoo was hunched over his notebook, the bangs falling over his eyes left ignored when he looked up to see Chanyeol standing tall with his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

Chanyeol was dressed formally in a black three-piece suit and cravat as he had just returned from a formal event. Jongdae was as formally dressed too.

“Would you like something to eat and drink, your Highness?” Minseok bowed to Chanyeol, moving backward to distance himself from Chanyeol as the protocol dictated.

“Sure, get me some of the tea and cakes you got for Kyungsoo too,” Chanyeol replied, sitting himself down on the empty wooden chair beside Kyungsoo with the small table separating their chairs from each other.

Minseok bowed once more and left, walking down the wooden platform and back towards the staff cabin to get more of the tea and cakes to serve Chanyeol with. On the way, he passed by Jongdae and they nodded their heads to each other in silence to acknowledge the other.

Kyungsoo still hadn’t said anything and continued to keep quiet as he straightened his back, sitting up straighter with his head turned towards Chanyeol and right hand still gripping the pen hovering above his notebook.

“What are you up to?” Chanyeol questioned, unbuttoning the two buttons on his coat as he heaved a sigh before leaning back against the chair, admiring the view of the forests and the lake cove in front of him.

“I’m just writing a letter to my friends and family back in Vallis,” Kyungsoo answered.

“I see. With the speed that cargo trains can travel these days and the frequency of trips made between our countries, it shouldn’t take more than a week for your letter to get back to your home,” Chanyeol informed.

“That’s right,” Kyungsoo agreed, although his mind was more focused on the fact that despite how travel and post were made convenient now, it made him even more suspicious that something was at play regarding why he had yet to receive a letter from Vallis in over two months.

“I just got back and I was looking for you but the palace footman told me you were out here with Minseok, so I went here,” Chanyeol then asked, “Do you come out here often?”

“This is my second time only actually. I got bored of hanging out in the palace all day, seeing the same thing over and over with nothing to do,” Kyungsoo revealed.

“Ah, the bliss of not having to do anything,” Chanyeol muttered, folding his arms over his chest as he relaxed his posture, “I feel anxious if I don’t have anything to do. Does that not please you?”

“I can’t say I’m used to it,” Kyungsoo responded, “Back in Vallis, I had a job in the military and did some work with the law, enforcement and public security. I liked attending parliamentary sessions too since I want to know what the lawmakers are discussing and what issues in the country needs to be addressed.”

Chanyeol was quiet for a while as he pondered on what Kyungsoo had just told him. Another cool breeze blew over the lake, rustling the leaves on the trees and slightly rippling the water on the calm lake’s surface.

Kyungsoo went back to writing his letter, with Chanyeol glancing over at him every now and then, both of them just sitting there with each other in silence.

Not long later, Minseok arrived with a silver tray with a teapot of brewed warm tea and freshly baked cakes from the palace’s pastry kitchen.

Minseok set out another teacup for Chanyeol, pouring out the tea and also refilling Kyungsoo’s cup before serving the slices of cakes on small plates. Minseok then politely excused himself, leaving Kyungsoo and Chanyeol alone together, although Jongdae remained in watch of them on land.

Chanyeol took several sips of his tea while Kyungsoo continued writing and occasionally flipping through pages to look back on other things he had written down.

Chanyeol didn’t use a fork to properly eat his cake with. Instead, he grabbed the pastry with his hands and bit through the sponge cake before putting the remainder back down on the small plate.

“You know, you can use the bigger cabin. There’s even a boat on the platform there,” Chanyeol pointed out.

“I know. I think I prefer it here and I don’t plan to go boating anytime in the near future,” Kyungsoo replied, looking up from his book and gazing straight ahead.

“Very well then,” Chanyeol accepted, turning his head to the side to look at Kyungsoo again, running some of his fingers through his blond hair, even trying to look up towards his forehead at the handful of his own hair in his hands.

Kyungsoo closed his notebook with his pen lodged in between some pages, putting it aside, “So, what did you do today? You’re back rather early since you usually get home when it’s dark already.”

“Oh. Today is some remembrance day for when the oligarch council first held their meeting session hundreds of years ago; when Zerura’s government system was just drafted and formed. It’s something like a parliament session you have in Vallis,” Chanyeol informed, “They usually invite a member of the royal family as a guest of honor on this day and it’s usually my father but he’s been skipping out on these public appearances in the past few years. All I need to do is read some speech, shake hands, talk to a few people and then go home. I’m sure you do those things back home too.”

“Not really actually,” Kyungsoo scrunched his nose in thought, “I actually try to do the paperwork, management and seeing something I’m working on from its planning to the execution phase. My sister does the public stuff.”

“Yeah? And what kind of work is that concerning?” Chanyeol questioned, placing an arm on the armrest, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand.

“Oh, it can be anything from making sure the welfare of the public servants and their families are being taken care of by the government to address internal security threats such as radical cults or terrorists,” Kyungsoo answered.

“Well, it doesn’t sound too different than what I do; although I deal with more of that ‘public stuff’ you said your sister does.” Chanyeol spoke, “Zerura is a smaller country. We have fewer people and there’s probably not as much to do unlike in Vallis but if you like, I could probably invite you to oversee an oligarch council in session one of these days.”

“Really!?” Kyungsoo’s face lit up, his eyes glistening and his face looking even youthful from just being in a good mood.

“Of course,” Chanyeol smiled thinly, looking out ahead at the lake, instead of back at Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol was rather relaxed and at ease at the moment but it was disrupted by a sudden numb but stabbing pain, concentrated in his lower abdomen where his stomach was. It started off mild and throbbing but eventually grew in intensity.

Chanyeol placed an arm over the area that hurt, trying to put pressure on it to stop as he bent over at the waist, almost keeling over on the chair.

Kyungsoo got up from his seat, quickly hustling over to Chanyeol’s side, placing a hand behind Chanyeol’s back, “Chanyeol, are you alright?”

Jongdae saw this too and immediately began walking over to Chanyeol.

“I’m fine, it’s fine,” Chanyeol assured, putting his hand out to stop Jongdae from approaching him too, “This is normal. I get this stomach pains often but it’s nothing serious. It just hadn’t happened in a few months now.”

“Are you sure?” Kyungsoo worriedly asked.

“Yes, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me,” Chanyeol answered through gritted teeth, holding his stomach with his arm as he keeled over in half on the chair.

“He’ll be fine. Do not worry,” Jongdae also tried to assure Kyungsoo.

Jongdae later assisted Chanyeol off of the platform and indoors. Minseok came around to fetch Kyungsoo too and walk him back to the palace, with Kyungsoo still feeling a bit bewildered and concerned for Chanyeol despite all the reassurance from everyone else.

Kyungsoo did not see Chanyeol for the rest of the evening and it was a few more days until they saw each other again.

Kyungsoo was worried for Chanyeol still but he chose to trust everyone else who kept assuring him that Chanyeol was fine.

**

Several days later after Kyungsoo last saw Chanyeol near the lake, Kyungsoo happened to be up late that one night.

He had attempted to go to bed earlier but found himself unable to sleep still, even after tossing and turning for over an hour. Kyungsoo had borrowed some books from the palace’s library which were on his desk in his room but he didn’t feel like reading any of them.

Kyungsoo had sent out the letter he wrote a few days ago and although he knew that he wasn’t going to get one back anytime soon, Kyungsoo still wanted to wait at least two weeks before sending out another one.

Therefore, Kyungsoo didn’t really have many things to do, that he could think of, while he waited until he was sleepy enough to go to bed. Kyungsoo did think about having a cup of some warm drink, hoping it would help him fall asleep.

It was late May and warm enough to go through the nights without the fireplace. Kyungsoo walked up to the empty and unlit hearth to look at the small clock above the fireplace to see that it was already a quarter past midnight.

Seeing that it was already pretty late, Kyungsoo knew that most of the palace staff, even Minseok, would have gone to bed too. Although, a skeleton crew would always be on duty at these hours to keep the palace operational at all times.

Not wanting to bother any of the staff this late at night, Kyungsoo decided against requesting for a cup of hot milk to help him fall asleep. If he were back in his official residence at Vallis, Kyungsoo could just go down to the kitchen and get whatever he wanted but he wasn’t even allowed to even fetch his own food while he lived in Chanyeol’s palace.

Instead, Kyungsoo decided to take a walk around the palace instead as a means to help him fall asleep. When he popped his head outside of his room, Kyungsoo was actually pleasantly surprised to see that no one was outside his door guarding over him.

For once, Kyungsoo felt like he wasn’t being followed or being watched by someone constantly; which was a usual feeling these days.

Kyungsoo began to wander around the palace in his night robe and slippers in the surrounding areas near his room; so that he didn’t wander too far from his room if he wanted to return anytime.

This wasn’t the first time Kyungsoo had been walking around the palace at these times. When he did so, most of the times it was when he would be leaving Chanyeol’s room after their nightly encounters. But then, he would usually have Minseok or someone else walking him back to his room, unlike tonight where he was alone.

And even then, the palace didn’t appear too deserted unlike now. Something about it just felt off and different to Kyungsoo.

Usually, there would still be some guards on duty even at this time but there was no one, not even the night shift maid who would be walking around the palace with her cleaning cart was seen.

Even the lights that would usually be left on were turned off that night and Kyungsoo couldn’t help but feel that something was up. There was really something different about the atmosphere that night too.

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if Chanyeol had returned to the palace after being away for a few days so he decided that he might as well go and check.

On the way to Chanyeol’s room, Kyungsoo passed by a sitting room which’s purpose is for entertaining guests. Although Kyungsoo had yet to make use of that particular room, he had been inside there at least one time when he was just wandering around the palace to get to know the layout.

As Kyungsoo was approaching the sitting room down the palace’s dimly lit and empty corridors, Kyungsoo was able to see lights and the shadowy figures of some people coming from the gap of the sitting room’s doorway, where the door was not fully closed into the frame.

Kyungsoo didn’t think much of it, assuming it was some servants cleaning up until he got close enough to hear Chanyeol’s deep baritone voice speaking with another man whose voice Kyungsoo did not quite recognize but felt kind of familiar with.

That certainly did answer Kyungsoo’s question of wanting to know if Chanyeol was back at the palace or otherwise. Feeling guilty about eavesdropping on the conversation, Kyungsoo began to take some steps backward and was going to return to his room, hopefully without anyone even knowing that he was there.

Before he could leave and be out of earshot, Kyungsoo was startled to hear the sudden sounds of something like glass or a ceramic piece being smashed to the floor.

Almost instantly after that, Kyungsoo was even surprised to hear Chanyeol’s voice booming and yelling back at this other man in the sitting room, who too raised his voice back at Chanyeol, seemingly in an argument.

Somehow, Kyungsoo felt like this should be something private and not something he should be overhearing, especially like this. Kyungsoo had half a mind to just leave, admittedly a bit intimidated by hearing Chanyeol so angry for the first time.

But Kyungsoo ended up staying and trying to be inconspicuous as possible instead when he overheard what the argument was really about.

“How can you make a simple mistake such as this!?” This other man yelled at Chanyeol, “How can I trust you with the country if you make these kinds of mistakes? How hard was it for you to actually sign papers and then send the correct ones out to the respective agencies? Because of you, the budget for the border guards funding has to be delayed. You can’t even sign a paper properly!”

“How many times have I told you that I did it right and this was probably a mistake after I passed it on to the next level. Why are you scolding me for something I did? All you know how to do is criticize me, anyway. You don’t even do your own work and expect me to. If you want it right, then why don’t you do it yourself?” Chanyeol yelled back.

“You are going to be the king of this country soon. You have to know how to do all this work from now!” The other man berated.

Hearing that and still without seeing this other’s man face, Kyungsoo could pretty much guess that he was King Junmyeon, the ruler of Zerura and Chanyeol’s father.

“Well, if I had a choice I wouldn’t even want to be the King! What’s the point of royalty anyway!?” Chanyeol disputed, “-other countries do well without a monarchy.”

“You are almost twenty-seven but you are clearly still an immature child! Our family has maintained being royalty for generations clearly because we put a lot of effort into that. I am not going to let our centuries-long of achievements to be diminished by you. If you weren’t my only child, I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago!” Junmyeon argued back.

“Then do it!” Chanyeol challenged, “I never asked you to be my father anyway!”

Kyungsoo approached the gap at the door, peeking through the slit and seeing Chanyeol looking very irritated near a coffee table. He was still dressed in a royal ceremonial suit although it was fully unbuttoned, showing his white shirt underneath and his cravat hanging loose and messily on his neck.

Junmyeon was a bit more casually dressed in just a white shirt, vest, and trousers. He was standing nearer to the wall and this was the first time Kyungsoo had seem him in person outside of portraits hanging on the palace’s walls and the few official visits Junmyeon had made to Vallis in the past few years.

Seeing as both Chanyeol and Junmyeon were rather occupied at arguing with each other, they were too distracted to notice Kyungsoo there, who was being sneaky and also hidden anyway.

Kyungsoo had maybe half the mind to leave, so he didn’t have to deal with being discovered or carrying around the guilt at eavesdropping on what was supposed to be a private moment. 

Just when Kyungsoo had decided to leave, he saw Junmyeon reaching for the sword on the crest display on the wall which resembled the Zerurian royal family coat of arms. Although it was for decoration purposes, real functional swords were used to put on the plaque.

Kyungsoo saw the alarm in Chanyeol’s eyes when Junmyeon removed the sword from the wall, brandishing it as he approached Chanyeol who was backing away.

Junmyeon lifted the sword at his waist level and was seemingly attempting to attack an unarmed Chanyeol with it.

Alarmed, Kyungsoo didn’t think twice before storming into the room to put himself between Chanyeol and Junmyeon. Kyungsoo abhorred unnecessary violence and it was very much like of him to put himself in harm’s way, if it meant that he could put someone else out of it.

Chanyeol had been grazed by the sword on the side of his abdomen when Kyungsoo came barging through the doors.

Distracted by Kyungsoo coming out of seemingly nowhere, Junmyeon hesitated and Kyungsoo was able to put himself in front of Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo spread both his arms wide protectively to shield an injured and rather confused Chanyeol behind him.

“Please, don’t,” Kyungsoo pleaded, looking over his shoulder at Chanyeol and then back at Junmyeon ahead of him.

Junmyeon laughed, throwing the sword to the floor which landed with a loud clanging sound on the marble, continuing to chastise Chanyeol, “How pathetic are you to have an omega to protect you? And you’re supposed to be an alpha!”

“Why did you come here?” Chanyeol hissed through gritted teeth, pressing a hand to his injured sides, “It’s not like he’s trying to kill me.”

“Even if he won’t kill you, it’s not right to settle it with violence,” Kyungsoo announced at both Junmyeon and Chanyeol.

Junmyeon snorted air out of his nose, furious, before turning and walking away out of the room, leaving Chanyeol and Kyungsoo there.

Once Junmyeon left, Chanyeol staggered to the table and sat on top of it, still clutching his side.

“I’ll go get someone,” Kyungsoo hassled.

“No!” Chanyeol refused, “I don’t want anyone to find out about this.”

“-but you really need help,” Kyungsoo stressed, seeing the blood seeping through Chanyeol’s clothes and staining his hands.

“There’s a first aid kit in almost every utility room. Do you know where it is? Just grab one and go to my room. Don’t let anyone find out what you are doing.,” Chanyeol ordered, lifting himself up from the table and beginning his struggled walk to his room without causing too much pain or for the wound to open up even more.

“Yes, I’ll go get one,” Kyungsoo quickly answered, rushing out of the sitting room, being faster than Chanyeol.

Before Chanyeol left the sitting room, he picked up the sword from the floor to put it back on the plaque on the wall, wanting to hide all signs of a skirmish happening in that room.

Chanyeol was already sitting on his bed shirtless and pressing a cloth to his wound when Kyungsoo rushed into his room with a basin of hot water and a first aid kit under his shoulder.

Kyungsoo was almost out of breath from all the running he did and somehow managing to get the hot water from a still hot kettle in the servant’s pantry.

Kyungsoo placed the basin on the floor and rushed to the edge of the bed, throwing the first aid kit onto the mattress.

“Here, let me see,” Kyungsoo urged, slowly removing the cloth Chanyeol had pressed to his side.

Chanyeol winced and hissed from the pain when the wound was exposed to slightly cool air.

“It doesn’t look bad or too deep. Most likely a surface wound but it’s quite long,” Kyungsoo commented, “You should really see a doctor after this about it.”

“I don’t care if it’s the size of a ball and I don’t want to see anyone-,” Chanyeol continued to grit his teeth to withstand the pain, looking towards the ceiling in pain, “Just do something about it.”

“Alright, alright,” Kyungsoo repeated, as he took a clean cloth that he dipped in the hot water to wipe away the blood and sterilize the wound with.

Since the wound wasn’t that deep and hadn’t hit any major vein, it stopped bleeding quickly and Kyungsoo was able to clean it up before helping Chanyeol to bandage the graze wound.

It took a while and a lot of bandages but Kyungsoo’s basic military training and first aid knowledge helped a lot.

Chanyeol heaved a sigh of relief once Kyungsoo said that he was finished and began clearing up all the tools and leftover bandages back into the first aid box.

Chanyeol put a shirt on before he moved further up his bed and laid down, breathing a bit heavily and loudly.

“I’ll go put this back where I found it,” Kyungsoo announced, closing up the first aid box.

“No, don’t go yet,” Chanyeol halted Kyungsoo, lifting himself up into a sitting position and holding onto Kyungsoo’s upper arm to stop him from leaving yet.

“Oh, is there anything you need?” Kyungsoo turned his head to face Chanyeol, sitting quite close to him on the lower end of the bed.

“I don’t need anything,” Chanyeol denied, “-just keep me company for a while if you can.”

“Uh…sure,” Kyungsoo agreed, not because he was hesitant but because it was maybe the first time he heard Chanyeol ask for his company. It was still something new for Kyungsoo to experience.

Kyungsoo placed the first aid box onto the floor near the bed with the now half-full basin of room temperature water.

“So…umm….did you need anything?” Kyungsoo asked, pausing momentarily after almost every word.

Chanyeol shook his head, his eyes closed, “Just stay with me for a while.”

“Of course,” Kyungsoo affirmed, trying to be as gentle and cautious as possible with Chanyeol after what the latter had just experience.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol muttered, turning his head to face away from Kyungsoo and towards the side instead.

“So, how do you feel?” Kyungsoo asked, carefully so as to not to tread onto anything that might hurt Chanyeol’s feelings.

“-tired,” Chanyeol almost grunted.

“I see,” Kyungsoo responded, keeping his head lowered, “I-I’m sorry about what happened just now.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault,” Chanyeol quickly replied back, “It’s normal for me. I can’t say that he attacks me with a sword all the time but it’s just like that between us both.”

“-that’s still not right though,” Kyungsoo mentioned, “You deserve to be treated better.”

“It’s fine, really,” Chanyeol tried to assure, “I haven’t lived with him in years and even then, I don’t get to see him often so it’s really alright. He’s always treated me like that because I was born an alpha and not an omega like my parents wanted. My mother was pretty much the same to me too.”

“That actually concerns me,” Kyungsoo contended, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m not a child anymore, Kyungsoo. If you wanted to be concerned about me, you should have done that maybe fifteen years ago. I’m an adult now and I don’t have to see my father most of the time. I can fend for myself and even if it happens, he won’t kill me because I’m his only heir to the throne. He’s a king before he’s a father and he won’t let that happen, I know,” Chanyeol confidently proclaimed, “Besides, I’m still alive now, aren’t I?”

“Well if you say so, I trust you then but I really am of the opinion that no one deserves to be treated the way you do. Aren’t parents supposed to nurture their children?” Kyungsoo said.

Chanyeol sighed, holding onto his shoulder, “I’m sure you know now that doesn’t work for people like us. Maybe if we were born as some average commoners, our parents would be able to love us but not when we are royalty. Didn’t your mother want an alpha as her firstborn too?”

“I know she does but she doesn’t hurt me _like that_ ,” Kyungsoo answered, “as disappointed as she is about me being born omega, she would never raise a sword against me.”

Chanyeol snickered in sarcasm, “She sounds a lot better than mine.”

“Didn’t your mother pass away from an illness when you were eleven?” Kyungsoo pointed out.

“She did but not before she left me with a lot of emotional trauma and scars,” Chanyeol recalled.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kyungsoo apologized, the tone of his voice dropping.

“It’s fine. She’s dead now. She can’t hurt me anymore,” Chanyeol was pained to even remember, balling his hands into a fist, grasping onto the bedsheets below him, “She suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to me which was aggravated even more by her disappointment to give birth to an alpha instead of the omega the whole palace was hoping for. You do know that the throne of Zerura is seeking for an omega King or Queen, even better if it is a girl and I am neither of that.”

Kyungsoo slightly shifted, inching just a bit closer to Chanyeol, “-but those are all factors outside your control. You shouldn’t be blamed for that.”

“Of course but I still am, aren’t I?” Chanyeol deadpanned, staring back into Kyungsoo’s eyes before he continued, “It was even worse when my mother found out she couldn’t get pregnant again after giving birth to me because of the complicated delivery which damaged her womb. She blamed me for the reason that she wasn’t able to get pregnant and give birth again to that omega girl she thought she would have.”

Kyungsoo gasped silently, keeping quiet and not wanting to be intrusive, especially since Chanyeol was willingly talking and sharing about his sensitive past.

Chanyeol continued, “Her mental and physical health deteriorated while I was growing up so she never really raised me. I was raised by nannies and caretakers. I only knew her as the woman who gave birth to me. I used to want to get to know and be closer to her when I eventually learned that most people were close to their mothers. Some days, she was nice to me and some days, she would scream at me and start blaming me all over again as the reason why she became like that. She even tried slamming me against the wall, choking me, threatening to push me in the fireplace but she particularly liked pulling my hair out. She said it was because the color reminded her of my father whom she grew to loathe too over the years. I heard from some of the servants that he hadn’t slept in the same room with her for almost ten years until she died. He never talks of her too.” 

Chanyeol fell quiet again, staring into blank space without much in thought as he didn’t really want to relive those experiences despite having just told about it.

Kyungsoo tried to ease the mood, by saying, “You know…I never got to know who my father was outside of the stories my nannies told me too. I just knew that he was a beta and one of my mother’s assistants. When I was born an omega and not an alpha as he wanted, he left the palace and no one has heard of him since then. Because of that, my mother had my sister with another man, who was a military commander if I'm not mistaken. I too felt like I was missing out on a lot when I realized that I was raised differently compared to everyone else but I try to not let that get to me, or define who I am today. I don’t think it could have been any better even if he weren’t around considering I’m not the child he wants.”

“So we do share something in common, I suppose,” Chanyeol mentioned, pulling his feet up towards his chest, resting his chin on his raised knees.

“I’m sorry to hear that your mother hurt you too,” Kyungsoo sympathized, “You have nice hair, by the way. I like it, even if your mother says that she doesn’t. It’s beautiful. The golden shade reminds me of the sun’s streaks across the sky at sunset, like the one I saw when I was on the train traveling over the Ostshore bridge.”

“You think so?” Chanyeol straightened his back up, pushing his legs a bit away from his chest and running a hand through his blond hair, which he habitually did often as if to remind himself that all his hair was still there.

“Yes, I do think so,” Kyungsoo assured.

“Thank you,” Chanyeol smiled a bit, moving in a bit closer to lean his head against Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Kyungsoo shifted and turned his head to allow Chanyeol to do so. Kyungsoo gently placed a hand on Chanyeol’s hair, patting Chanyeol’s head and gently running his fingers through the golden blond locks.

“Your hair is thick and healthy too,” Kyungsoo praised, rubbing Chanyeol’s head and moving down to his shoulders and upper arm.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol muttered, allowing himself to relax and lean into Kyungsoo’s touch. For the first time in a long time, Chanyeol felt like he was almost loved again.

Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around Chanyeol as much as that was possible in the position they were sitting in. Kyungsoo managed to pull Chanyeol into a hug and he teared up a little, although Chanyeol did his best to withhold the flood of tears from incoming, although a few drops did spill from the corner of his eyes.

The fireplace in Chanyeol’s room was cold. The last of the candles burning in the holder were now burning through the wick after the wax was almost fully melted.

The air was still and the room was quiet enough for Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to hear each other’s breaths and even the slightest thumping sounds of their heartbeats, whatnot with their proximity to each other with bodies pressed against each other. 

Chanyeol had a palm resting on Kyungsoo’s thigh and began to slide his hand further up, massaging and rubbing the clothed flesh as he went along.

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo called out in a single breath when Chanyeol’s hand had ridden further up to the part where his thigh met with his abdomen. Just a slight move sideways and Chanyeol’s hand would already be brushing against Kyungsoo’s groin area.

“Hmm…?” Chanyeol hummed, lifting his head off Kyungsoo’s shoulder to stare back at the latter with glassy eyes that were just tearing up a bit earlier on.

“I…I,” Kyungsoo seemingly struggled to find the words to say, not really sure what he was going to say anyway when Chanyeol began moving in closer towards him.

Chanyeol cupped Kyungsoo’s cheeks with both of his hands on either side of Kyungsoo’s face, moving closer to press his forehead against Kyungsoo’s with eyes closed.

“Are you alright?” Kyungsoo had to ask, eyes fluttering up to look at Chanyeol with their foreheads pressed against each other. Kyungsoo moved a hand up to hold onto Chanyeol’s that was cupping his face. 

“I’m alright,” Chanyeol assured with a low and calm voice.

“Oh-okay,” Kyungsoo replied, trusting Chanyeol.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol murmured, sultrily, tilting his face to the side and leaning in closer towards Kyungsoo’s face.

“Yeah…Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo muttered back softly with Chanyeol’s lips so close against his that they were brushing against each other.

“I want to make love to you. Can I?” Chanyeol requested, opening his eyes to look back into Kyungsoo’s own pair of dark brown eyes.

“I’d like to,” Kyungsoo answered, placing a hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder, “-but you’re still hurt. I don’t think you should move around so much.”

“That’s alright,” Chanyeol convinced, still speaking softly in a low voice, “You were the one who said it was nothing too bad and just a surface wound.”

“-but I still don’t want you to get hurt,” Kyungsoo emphasized. 

“Then I can lie down and you can ride me from on top. You can be in control that way,” Chanyeol suggested, “How about that?”

“If it’s that way, then sure,” Kyungsoo agreed, nipping on his lower lip, slightly flushed and shy about being given the reins of control for the first time.

Chanyeol removed his shirt again before moving further up the bed, aligning his head to lie down on the plush pillow before slowly letting himself back down onto the mattress.

Not wanting to feel awkward about still having his shirt on when Chanyeol didn’t, Kyungsoo too took his shirt off. Then, gently, Kyungsoo climbed on top of Chanyeol, straddling his hips and carefully avoiding where he knew the wound to be. Kyungsoo was much smaller than Chanyeol was and he felt even dwarfed by Chanyeol’s size and stature when he was the one on top.

Chanyeol raised an arm above his head to run his palm down the side of Kyungsoo’s defined jawline, praising, “You’re great.”

If it weren’t for the dim lighting in Chanyeol’s room, Kyungsoo’s cheeks flushed red would have been obvious as he was straddling Chanyeol from above, his hands pressed onto Chanyeol’s toned chest.

“You look good,” Chanyeol continued to praise, running his hands down Kyungsoo’s arms and sides, massaging the flesh beneath him. Chanyeol tenderly kneaded Kyungsoo’s breasts, flicking his thumb over the nipple occasionally.

Kyungsoo gasped, pushing his chest forward, to bring himself even closer to the source of stimulation, his back arching in a curve when he did so. Although having his nipples stimulated and his breasts fondled wasn’t exactly his favorite thing, Kyungsoo still enjoyed and welcomed it.

Chanyeol smirked from below when he could feel Kyungsoo’s erection forming a tent in his pants, pressed up against his abdomen from the position Kyungsoo was in on top of him.

“Are you turned on already?” Chanyeol asked, his hands resting on Kyungsoo’s hipbones.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo nodded, finding himself unconsciously grinding his hips down onto Chanyeol for more stimulation.

“That’s good,” Chanyeol replied, his hands finding the buttons that fastened Kyungsoo’s pants.

With Kyungsoo’s help and some movements that required him to get off of Chanyeol for a while, Kyungsoo was rid of his pants and was now naked on top of Chanyeol.

The globes of Kyungsoo’s ass were pressed against Chanyeol’s half-hard cock. Feeling Chanyeol’s thick cock rubbing against his butt, Kyungsoo pushed his ass backward, swaying his hips up and down and then left to right to stimulate Chanyeol’s cock.

Chanyeol was mostly quiet, save for a few grunts and growls that Kyungsoo feared to be out of pain because of his wound. Chanyeol’s expression also seemed rather “strained”, with the way his eyebrows were furrowing and his forehead creased, although his actions seemed to say otherwise.

Chanyeol continued encouraging Kyungsoo, praising him as his right hand found its way to Kyungsoo’s cock, moving his hand up and down the length of the omega’s cock.

“Ugh, I want you inside me,” Kyungsoo whined, having to restrain himself from moving a bit too wildly because he was afraid of hurting Chanyeol.

“I can’t say that I don’t like seeing you so impatient for me,” Chanyeol teased, partly amused by Kyungsoo’s reaction and desperation. Most of the time, sex between them was a duty for procreation and for once, it felt as if they were doing it for mutual pleasure instead.

“Can I suck you off, please?” Kyungsoo pleaded, pressing his hands down on Chanyeol’s chest, his face hovering several inches above Chanyeol’s.

“Sure,” Chanyeol agreed, “-but don’t make me cum yet. Or else I won’t be able to get it hard again for you.”

Kyungsoo nodded, mewling as he turned around, still sitting on top Chanyeol but now in a reverse cowgirl position instead, facing Chanyeol’s cock with his back turned.

Kyungsoo bent forward so he could align his face at a level with Chanyeol’s now hard cock which he was holding onto with one hand.

Kyungsoo took a deep breath before parting his plump lips and sticking his tongue out, running it down the underside of Chanyeol’s cock, lightly sucking onto the head before releasing it from his mouth.

Underneath him, Chanyeol was encouragingly kneading onto the flesh of Kyungsoo’s ass, while allowing himself to lay back and let Kyungsoo pleasure him in such a way he found rather adorable, especially how small Kyungsoo looked on top of him.

Kyungsoo continued licking the sides of Kyungsoo’s cock, swirling his tongue around the length, never taking more than the head of Chanyeol’s cock inside his mouth. Saliva and pre-cum were dripping from Kyungsoo’s lips and on his hand that he held Chanyeol’s cock with.

Wanting Kyungsoo to feel good too, Chanyeol parted the globes of Kyungsoo’s ass sticking out near his face with his hands. Kyungsoo’s ass was rather wet, loose and engorged with the blood rushing there, his omega biological identity which caused his body to be that way when aroused so as to ease reproduction.

Chanyeol pressed his middle finger inside Kyungsoo, fingering him.

On top, Kyungsoo’s heart was palpitating and he was trying his best to still his breathing through his nose before he began to move his head further down Chanyeol’s cock, wanting to take in more of the length inside his mouth.

Somehow, Kyungsoo just longed to feel the weight of that thick cock pressing against his tongue, inside his cheeks, and down his throat.

Chanyeol moaned when he felt the back of Kyungsoo’s throat on his cock, having to stop his hips from wanting to thrust into that slippery, wet mouth.

Chanyeol tapped Kyungsoo’s butt, “Wait, stop.”

Kyungsoo quickly lifted himself back up, Chanyeol’s cock leaving his mouth when he heard that. Concerned, Kyungsoo turned around to face Chanyeol, looking a bit worried, “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

“No, it’s not that” Chanyeol denied, shaking his head, “I just don’t want to cum yet. At the rate you were going, I would have been cumming inside your mouth.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo smiled, relieved, flipping his position so he was once again facing Chanyeol while still being on top of him.

Pushing his butt out, putting himself into more of a squatting position and using Chanyeol’s chest for support, Kyungsoo reached a hand behind to line the head of Chanyeol’s cock right against the rim of his hole.

Just by using his muscle strength, Kyungsoo lifted his hips up so he could impale himself down on Chanyeol’s cock, slowly pushing down inch by inch until it was all the way in and Kyungsoo could feel his butt resting against Chanyeol’s pelvic bone.

Chanyeol truly enjoyed this view, breathing hard at the anticipation, letting Kyungsoo be in control like he said it would be.

“I feel so full with you inside me,” Kyungsoo moaned, grinding his hips with Chanyeol’s cock balls deep inside his ass. Kyungsoo’s eyes were beginning to water because of the pleasure as he gasped, feeling Chanyeol’s thick cock pressed against his sensitive spots inside.

Kyungsoo almost lost his balance with the way he was swaying and trembling from the pleasure. Before he fell off, Chanyeol caught him, holding and joining their hands together in front of their bodies.

Chanyeol’s grip on Kyungsoo’s hands to keep him steady was strong yet gentle. With the additional support, Kyungsoo finally had a bit more audacity to lift his hips up slightly before pushing back down to ride Chanyeol’s cock.

With every further movement, Kyungsoo lifted his hips even higher until only the head of Chanyeol’s cock was sheathed inside him before pushing all his upper body weight back down, slamming himself onto Chanyeol’s cock with a wet squelching sound and a smacking noise made by the supple flesh of Kyungsoo’s ass.

Kyungsoo was quivering from the pleasure and the rush of adrenaline of being on top for the first time. The pleasure felt like jolts of electricity that ran down his spine to shock him. So much that it took almost all of his energy to keep stable on top of Chanyeol, even with support from Chanyeol himself from below.

For Chanyeol, it was a challenge to not want to just hold Kyungsoo’s hips down and just pound mercilessly upwards into that thick ass and tight heat. It was almost testing to his patience and Chanyeol wasn’t a fan of losing.

In this position, Chanyeol had almost the best view of Kyungsoo’s face contorted in the haze of pleasure, mouth hanging open and tongue slightly sticking out, with beads of sweat trailing all the way down to his chest. Chanyeol also thought it was rather amusing to see Kyungsoo’s ignored cock, leaking and bouncing around whenever he moved his hips.

But after a while, Chanyeol even willingly conceded to that defeat when he felt that he couldn’t take this “challenge” anymore.

When Chanyeol let go of Kyungsoo’s hands, he was sent falling down forward onto Chanyeol’s chest. Chanyeol sputtered a little when he felt his wound sting from that sudden weight falling onto his chest.

Chanyeol chose to ignore that though and quickly moved his hands to grab on Kyungsoo’s ass, spreading him apart with his cock still sheathed deeply inside.

Kyungsoo gasped, still shaking and trying to compose himself with his head tucked under Chanyeol’s chin. He couldn’t even scold Chanyeol for just suddenly letting to like that without warning.

Sloppily, Kyungsoo lifted his face to kiss Chanyeol, open-mouthed with a lot of tongue and saliva involved. Their eyes weren’t even fully closed, still partially looking at each other in the messy kiss.

Kyungsoo was holding Chanyeol’s face within his hands tenderly, feeling as if he was kissing and making love to a lover and not simply having sex just to commit to a duty.

Then again without warning, Chanyeol thrust his hips and cock up into Kyungsoo, using his hands to keep the butt cheeks pried open.

Kyungsoo yelped, almost screaming when that happened unexpectedly. Before he could even process his confusion and pleasure, Chanyeol was already flipping their positions and pressing Kyungsoo with his back down on the bed.

Chanyeol’s cut on his side hurt a bit when he did that but he didn’t care even if the wound were to open up again. Chanyeol spread Kyungsoo’s legs apart, holding them open from behind the knee as he thrust his cock back inside, lifting one of Kyungsoo’s legs to his shoulder.

Still surprised and already getting drunk on the pleasure, Kyungsoo was only able to lie there and take it, balling his fists up as he cried from all the stimulation. It was as if his brain had short-circuited from the overload of sensations, leaving himself only able to register the pleasure of a cock being pounded into his ass.

Kyungsoo began to sob, pressing a hand to his face, which left Chanyeol very concerned.

Chanyeol stilled, looking very worried, asking, “Is everything alright? Do you want me to stop?”

“No, it’s okay,” Kyungsoo sobbed, shaking his head with one hand still covering his face, “Please, continue. I’m so close.”

Chanyeol complied and began thrusting fast, hard and deep inside Kyungsoo with his hands still firm on Kyungsoo’s legs, splitting him in half.

Kyungsoo shook when he came, his toes curling and his mouth hung open in a silent scream, spilling slick onto his chest and stomach.

Chanyeol fucked Kyungsoo through his orgasm, not wanting to stop yet until he reached his climax too.

“So good,” Chanyeol groaned, his eyes closed as one final thrust pushed him over the edge and he came inside Kyungsoo, breathing hard as he collapsed on top of Kyungsoo, their naked sweaty bodies flushed and pressed against each other. 

“Are you alright?” Kyungsoo asked, feeling himself coming back from the high, running his hand down Chanyeol’s back. Kyungsoo could feel Chanyeol’s cum trickling out of his ass and onto the bedsheets.

“Yes, I’m alright,” Chanyeol assured, slowly lifting himself up from Kyungsoo and looking to see that his bandaged wound seemed fine.

Kyungsoo lifted himself up into a sitting position too, facing Chanyeol sitting up in front of him on the bed. Kyungsoo threw his arms around Chanyeol, pulling him into a hug, resting his head against Chanyeol’s shoulder.

No more words needed to be said that Kyungsoo was just trying to make Chanyeol feel better. Chanyeol smiled and hugged Kyungsoo back, kissing Kyungsoo on the head as he tried to forget that they still needed to clean up after the mess they had made.

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure when he fell asleep after sex. He did remember getting dressed, Chanyeol helping him clean up and them having a small conversation before that.

When Kyungsoo woke up, he found himself still in Chanyeol’s bed and room. There was some light from outside pouring in through the gap between the curtains, informing Kyungsoo that it was already morning.

Kyungsoo was lying on his side and when he was trying to get up and remove the blankets off of himself, he looked to the side and was a bit surprised to see Chanyeol still there sleeping soundly. Kyungsoo had thought that because he was still in Chanyeol’s room, it was Chanyeol who had left to sleep elsewhere.

Quietly, Kyungsoo got out of bed to get dressed before also leaving Chanyeol’s room in a quiet manner while he smiled to himself, feeling rather warm and fuzzy about that.

**

Since Kyungsoo knew and tracked the dates of his period, he began to panic and feel excited at the same time when it was exactly a week late, although he didn’t tell anyone about it yet because he didn’t want all the fuss that followed to be for nothing.

When it came to two weeks, Kyungsoo was even surer of it. 

In late June, exactly a month after he spent the entire night with Chanyeol and slept through with him until the morning, Kyungsoo also began to experience morning sickness and sensitivity towards certain smells, which confirmed that he was indeed pregnant.

Kyungsoo told Chanyeol about it first and Chanyeol had smiled so wide, hugging Kyungsoo tight when he heard the news. Through rather accurate calculations from the dates Kyungsoo had his last period; Kyungsoo was due with a baby in late February to early March of the following year.

They were one more step closer to fulfilling their duties before they got to walk down their own paths.

Kyungsoo, of course, wrote back home about his pregnancy and also to give them an update even though he had given up on ever hoping for a letter back. Even so, at least Kyungsoo wanted to know that he was doing something about that.

Summers in Zerura were rather cool and wet with rain falling almost every other day. Because of that, Kyungsoo had to spend a lot more time indoors even though he yearned to be outside there to explore the place before he went home once the baby was born. He wasn’t able to even go down to the cabin by the lake because of the rain most of the times

It was early August and Kyungsoo was about ten weeks pregnant. He had not begun to show yet, although a very slight bump was beginning to form on his belly, which Kyungsoo was sure wasn’t there before.

Kyungsoo still experienced morning sickness and a doctor who was called to the palace had told him that it would persist for at least another month or so.

Even if it weren’t for the rain, Kyungsoo wouldn’t be able to go anywhere because even walking slightly made him feel nauseous enough to throw up.

Although he and Chanyeol ceased having sex with each other since the news of the pregnancy broke out, Chanyeol still visited Kyungsoo at least three to four times a week whenever he could.

Seeing Kyungsoo struggle through the morning sickness, Chanyeol ordered Kyungsoo to stay home and didn’t bring him out of the palace until further notice, leaving Kyungsoo feeling further “trapped” within the many walls and rooms of the palace.

The grey and overcast skies outside also seemed to put a damper on Kyungsoo’s spirits, feeling unmotivated to do anything much because of that.

Kyungsoo sat on a cushioned bay window seat in one of the many reading rooms within the palace. Rain pattered onto the glass panes of the window from outside, droplets of water sliding down the glass, the sounds of it hitting the windows and the roof above drowning the atmosphere.

Kyungsoo had a book on his lap; an autobiography of a famous Zerurian war general from three centuries ago. He had been reading it and although he found the book to be entertaining, he found himself easily distracted by his thoughts especially now that he was pregnant and shouldering a heavy responsibility upon his small shoulders.

Kyungsoo wasn’t alone in the room as per usual. Minseok was there with him, standing a good distance away at the other end of the room awaiting orders.

Upon noticing that Kyungsoo had put the book aside and had been staring out at the rainy landscape outside the window for a while now- looking rather bored too, Minseok carefully approached Kyungsoo.

Minseok asked, “Your Highness, does the book not entertain you? Would you like for me to get you something else to read?”

Kyungsoo snapped from his thoughts, turning to look at Minseok’s direction, “Umm…no thank you. I don’t really feel like reading anymore when it’s all I’ve been doing these past few weeks.”

“I regret to hear that. Would you like to do something else then?” Minseok suggested, his head slightly lowered and avoiding direct eye contact with Kyungsoo so as to abide by royal protocols.

“Not really. If I move around a lot, I start to feel nauseous and giddy since I’m still in the morning sickness phase,” Kyungsoo explained, “I don’t really want to do anything vigorous but then again, I don’t really want to just sit around and read books all day either.”

“How can I entertain you to pass the time then, Your Highness?” Minseok asked, awaiting orders.

“Why don’t you talk to me about yourself? I remember you telling me that you come from Alberta but what about your family? How many siblings did you have? What do your parents do? Have you always had this job? How’d you end up working here in the palace?” Kyungsoo prompted, smiling and looking eager to hear what Minseok had to say.

Minseok snickered a little, “Are you sure about that, your Highness? I am just the palace steward and a servant to the royal family. I don’t see how my background and upbringing would be of interest to a prince such as yourself?”

“I still think it’s better than just me watching the rain fall outside,” Kyungsoo assured, urging Minseok, “Don’t be afraid. Speak as much as you want.”

“Well,” Minseok eased up a little, raising his head to look at Kyungsoo but still avoiding direct eye contact, “-I am the oldest child of two. I have a younger sister who works in Alberta and still lives with my parents. A lot of people say my sister and I look alike. My parents are just regular people with regular jobs. It’s nothing special, really.”

“Don’t say that,” Kyungsoo interjected, “No two people are alike so I think everyone is special and unique in their own terms. So are you, Minseok.”

“That’s very kind of you. Thank you,” Minseok thanked, bowing his head slightly.

“Well then, how did you end up working in the palace and managed to obtain this position? Tell me more. It’s always interesting for me to get to know others,” Kyungsoo encouraged, smiling and resting his cheek on a hand perched up against the bay window sill.

“I’ve always wanted to serve the royal family,” Minseok answered, “-it had always been my ambition for as long as I could remember. I looked up to the King and Queens of Zerura because under their leadership, our small country has managed to prosper and flourish alongside larger countries like your own. For me, it would be an honor to be able to serve these King and Queens. So I joined the military but I needed to graduate as the top of my class if I wanted to join the royal guard. I didn’t quite manage to make it to the top but I was able to find a way to still serve the royal family even as a house steward instead.”

“I see,” Kyungsoo nodded, responding as he listened intently to what Minseok had just told him, “So, that means Jongdae is part of the royal guard and that he graduated from the top of his military class to get there?”

“Exactly. Jongdae is a royal guard, which is why he works closer to Prince Chanyeol and is involved in royal affairs unlike me who deals with the management of this palace,” Minseok clarified, “It’s funny, actually. Jongdae and I graduated from the same class and since I came in second, it was technically him who blocked me from my ambition. I do not hold a grudge against him for it though. He truly deserved the position.”

Kyungsoo spoke up, “That may be true but I don’t think you should undermine your position either. If it weren’t for you, Chanyeol wouldn’t have meals prepared for him or even clothes laid out for him to wear. He may be the crown prince but he still has to eat or wear clothes to survive, doesn’t he? And you’re the one taking care of all of that for him. You should be proud, Minseok. You are already serving the future King of your nation and you have already achieved your ambition.”

“You are right, indeed,” Minseok realized, smiling to himself and lowering his head slightly, “You also are carrying a future King or Queen of Zerura within you right now. I am also proud to be of service to the parent of my future ruler one day.”

Kyungsoo too smiled, resting a palm on his small, clothed and already starting to show baby bump, “Of course.”

Kyungsoo later asked to be brought back to his private chambers for a noon siesta, when he started feeling nauseous and his breakfast threatening to throw up from his stomach.

After Minseok had accompanied Kyungsoo back to his room and made sure the prince’s needs and comfort were taken care of, Minseok quietly left Kyungsoo to rest in the room alone.

As Minseok was slowly leaving, he couldn’t help but remember what Chanyeol and Jongdae had told him about what they had in plan and what they ordered for Minseok to do.

For now, it was just to watch over Kyungsoo and keep track of his activities and who he spoke or had contact with. But Minseok knew of something else sinister and although he had known and agreed to this from the beginning, he was starting to have second thoughts about Kyungsoo now.

Minseok now believed and felt that Kyungsoo didn’t deserve what Chanyeol and Jongdae had in mind.


	4. Ruby

Kyungsoo’s morning sickness eventually dwindled out and was almost non-existent by the 13th week, at the beginning of the second trimester of his pregnancy.

Since then, Kyungsoo’s bump had hardly even grown if at all from previously. If he was shirtless and observing himself in the mirror sideways, he could make out the bump but it was easily mistaken from the usual slight bulge of his stomach especially with a full stomach. If Kyungsoo was clothed and fully dressed, it was very hard to notice and thus, Kyungsoo ceased to appear pregnant yet, which was rather beneficial seeing that the announcement of his pregnancy had not been made official to the public yet.

Even King Junmyeon, the grandfather of the child had not been made aware of Kyungsoo’s pregnancy until about a week ago when Chanyeol himself finally felt it was appropriate to bear such news to his father.

Even then, Kyungsoo had not heard a single peep from Junmyeon, even if it was to congratulate him or Chanyeol on their soon to be born child.

Then again, now understanding how Chanyeol’s relationship was like with his father, Kyungsoo wasn’t too surprised.

**

Now that Kyungsoo could move around more freely without having Chanyeol or Minseok advising him to sit down and stay put because of nausea that came with his morning sickness, Kyungsoo had a bit more freedom and was even allowed to go out of the palace if he pleased

Seeing that as soon as he would return to Vallis after giving birth, Kyungsoo wanted to visit places and at least do some sightseeing before he returned.

It was mid-September now and the official start of autumn was a week from then. Kyungsoo was sixteen weeks pregnant and due to give birth in another 24 weeks.

Chanyeol fulfilled his promise of bringing Kyungsoo to the oligarch council meeting, which was Zerura’s version of a senate hearing in Vallis, just like Kyungsoo had wanted to a while ago.

While Chanyeol would rather not be there but had to anyway as the future King of Zerura, Kyungsoo was very much happy to be there to overhear lawmaking decisions being brought up and debated in court.

Kyungsoo was even more delighted when Chanyeol allowed him to speak with some of the oligarch council members to talk about the difference between their two countries and how laws were decided and formed, here in Zerura and compared to in Vallis.

To the people who interacted with Kyungsoo, it was very evident even in his eyes, to know that Kyungsoo was actually very genuinely interested with the law and governance of a country which served to protect and provide for its citizens.

If Kyungsoo had been born an alpha or at least been born in a different country elsewhere which were more open towards omegas, he would have made a good King for his people indeed. In fact, if Kyungsoo was a Zerurian and not a foreign subject, Chanyeol would have been more than happy to have someone of Kyungsoo’s caliber to serve the country.

While Kyungsoo was still in the city center of Alberta after attending the oligarch council session in the morning, Chanyeol decided to bring him around the coastal city before they returned in the afternoon.

Minseok had not come along as his duties were more bound to the palace, so Jongdae had come along with them as usual when it came to being outside the palace.

As per palace protocols, they could not actually go anywhere as they pleased. They were only allowed to go to a few places which the palace had determined as “suitable” mostly due to security reasons.

Thus, there was a list of only a few selected shops or restaurants a member of the royal family could go to if they pleased, and even then they had to be escorted by their guards and assistants when doing so.

Being royalty wasn’t actually always a nice thing in the world they lived in. It was very restrictive and they were considered the property of the state, unlike a regular citizen who was free to do or pursue anything they pleased.

After lunch at one of the few food outlets they were allowed to eat in- only because the owners had built a special private section to accommodate patrons such as them- Kyungsoo asked to see the coastline of Alberta before returning to the palace.

Since Kyungsoo arrived in Zerura half a year ago in late winter, he had always wanted to see the port and the coastline bordering the city of Alberta which was built in a bay leading out to the sea. The port of Alberta was a famed major port for trading and shipping in their region, thus the decision to designate it as the capital of Zerura hundreds of years ago.

The car stopped at a row of cobblestone shops overlooking the calm, glistening ocean under the glow of the late afternoon sun. The row of cobblestone shops and the walkway outside just beside the ocean was a popular tourist destination in Alberta.

There weren’t just shops but also street stall vendors mostly selling souvenirs, snacks or trinkets which were targeted to the tourists.

If abiding royal security protocols, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo weren’t actually allowed to be there but because it was not so packed on a weekday afternoon and Kyungsoo really wanted to visit, Chanyeol managed to persuade Jongdae to let them go there for Kyungsoo.

Like the typical tourist in Alberta, Kyungsoo asked to stop at a souvenir shop and after Jongdae and a few guards made a general search on the premise, mainly to look for potential emergency exits and safe locations; only then Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were allowed to enter and shop there.

Chanyeol mainly stood in a corner of the shop with Jongdae while Kyungsoo shopped, avoiding the shell necklaces or ornaments that dangled from the ceiling which he had to duck to avoid because of his height and the relatively low ceiling. 

While they were inside, two more guards stood outside the shop and prevented anyone else from entering.

Kyungsoo bought various kinds of souvenirs which he planned to gift to his mother, sister, and even Baekhyun and Yixing when he eventually returned back home despite not hearing from them for over six months now. It didn’t matter because they were still his friends and family and not even a decade of silence could change how he felt about them.

Chanyeol and Jongdae remained silent, standing against a wall as they waited while Kyungsoo happily talked to the shopkeeper about the various items being on sale there. Like the person he was, who interested to know other people, Kyungsoo even somehow managed to talk the shopkeeper into a conversation about their shop and how long they had been running it.

Once Kyungsoo was done shopping and was standing on the curb of the sidewalk, ready to get into the car, he stopped to look out toward the ocean with the sun already low in the sky near the horizon.

Chanyeol had already gotten into the car and was already sitting and waiting for Kyungsoo. Jongdae remained standing outside the car, holding the door open for Kyungsoo.

The calm blue waters shimmered with orange and violet colors, reflecting the streaks in the sky above from the setting sun. An even cooler breeze blew out from the ocean and towards land.

It was a breathtaking sight, even more so when surrounded by the historical and beautiful buildings around him. Truly, it wasn’t an everyday sight for Kyungsoo when he returned to Verndina which was a landlocked city.

Somehow, it made Kyungsoo wished to stay here a bit longer, despite knowing his circumstances and why he was even in a foreign country in the first place.

Kyungsoo desperately wanted time to pass by as fast as possible so he could give birth and go home but yet he found himself feeling a bit reluctant to leave such a beautiful country and the people he had gotten to know here, especially Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo honestly felt bad about leaving Chanyeol once the time came to do so, knowing that Chanyeol would just be alone yet again, although this time with their child.

In a way, Kyungsoo wished that they both weren’t royalty and had met under different circumstances. Then maybe, Chanyeol wouldn’t have to be alone and that they could even raise their child together.

**

As Kyungsoo’s pregnancy progressed and he began very evidently showing even through his clothing around twenty weeks or so, Kyungsoo began to notice a change in behavior, in not only Minseok and Jongdae but also Chanyeol.

Initially, Kyungsoo attributed it to their concern over him due to being pregnant but soon enough, it was beginning to make Kyungsoo as restless and antsy like when he had just arrived in Zerura.

Kyungsoo didn’t really think that there was anything to worry about it because his pregnancy was viable, his health was good and that the doctors were very positive about him giving birth to a healthy child.

But of course, there was much more than that which Kyungsoo had yet to find out.

On some nights Chanyeol would visit Kyungsoo in his room and sometimes, they would sleep together, with Chanyeol almost always leaving in the morning even before Kyungsoo woke up.

Kyungsoo didn’t mind it and he actually appreciated having some company at night, especially being heavily pregnant, feeling vulnerable in a strange land and everything. It was actually nice to not sleep alone.

Almost entering into the third trimester of his pregnancy, Kyungsoo began experiencing insomnia and difficulty in maintaining sleep, just like the palace doctors had warned him would happen to almost all people who went through pregnancy.

On one of these nights, Kyungsoo had managed to fall asleep but he would wake up just after a few hours and then have trouble going back to sleep.

Chanyeol had visited him earlier that night and had decided to spend the night with Kyungsoo. When Kyungsoo had gone to sleep a few hours ago, Chanyeol was already asleep.

However, when Kyungsoo woke up in the middle of the night, under the illumination of the burning candle, he caught the view of Chanyeol walking away from the bed and out of the room. Chanyeol was unaware that Kyungsoo had woken up.

Although Kyungsoo knew that Chanyeol often left his room right after waking up in the morning, it was strange for Chanyeol to just get up and leave at this time of the night.

If Chanyeol had needed to get up to use the toilet, there was actually one attached to and accessible from inside Kyungsoo’s room.

Unable to think of any other reason as to why Chanyeol had to leave in the middle of the night; Kyungsoo got up from the bed and quickly grabbed his night robe hanging on the back of a chair to see what Chanyeol was up to.

Especially after that night when he found Junmyeon angrily confronting Chanyeol with a sword and had actually got him injured, Kyungsoo had been overall concerned about Chanyeol’s wellbeing and the situations he got himself into.

Kyungsoo scurried to the door, which Chanyeol had left slightly open, as fast as he could with a large belly that made him seem to waddle a lot.

But before Kyungsoo even reached for the handle, Chanyeol was already entering back inside, wearing his own night robe over his nightgown.

Chanyeol’s blond hair was messy, evident of his sleep earlier on and his ears perked up to see Kyungsoo awake and just about to grab the door handle to pull it fully open. 

“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaimed with a rather low voice as it was pretty late into the night.

“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo returned, probably as equally as surprised.

“I thought you were asleep,” Chanyeol gently mentioned, making his way into the room.

Kyungsoo helped pull the door open and then shut close again as he answered, “I was but as you know, I have trouble sleeping sometimes and I actually just woke up.”

“Oh, did I wake you? I’m sorry if I did,” Chanyeol questioned, standing near Kyungsoo at the now shut door.

“Not at all,” Kyungsoo denied and then revealed, “I woke up by myself and just happened to see you leaving the room. I was worried about you, which is why I went up to check.”

“I see. Everything is fine though,” Chanyeol understood, placing a gentle hand on Kyungsoo’s back in between his shoulder blades, “You should try to get some sleep while you can. When the baby arrives, it’ll be harder to sleep.”

“I know,” Kyungsoo replied, “I can try but it’s hard.”

Lowering his gaze to meet Kyungsoo’, Chanyeol rested a finger beneath Kyungsoo’s chin as he softly spoke, “Is there anything you want me to do for you then? To help you fall asleep?”

“I-I don’t really need anything,” Kyungsoo assured, trying to avoid Chanyeol’s gaze which he was beginning to find alluring. Maybe it was the hormones due to his pregnancy and the fact that he was carrying the child of the tall man standing in front of him. Because Kyungsoo never really recalled being like this with Chanyeol.

“Is the baby kicking again? Does it hurt?” Chanyeol continued to ask gently, removing his finger from under Kyungsoo’s chin, lowering his hand behind Kyungsoo to the small of his back as he gazed down to look at Kyungsoo’s bulging baby bump under his clothes.

“No,” Kyungsoo shook his head.

“Is it your feet then? Is it still sore?” Chanyeol asked.

“No, it’s alright now,” Kyungsoo once again denied.

Chanyeol sighed and snickered a little, rubbing his hand that was on Kyungsoo’s back, “Well, I was trying to offer you a belly or a foot rub if you said yes to any of that. But because it isn’t, I really don’t know what else to say or offer to you to help you sleep.”

“Well, you could actually come to be with me so we can fall asleep together,” Kyungsoo suggested with a smile.

“I suppose that would work too,” Chanyeol agreed, smiling as he walked himself and Kyungsoo back to the large four-poster bed at the other end of the room, especially being careful of Kyungsoo who was over six months pregnant with their child.

Once they were back in bed, Chanyeol tucked them both under the thick blankets as the fireplace in the room continued to burn and radiate heat to beat the cold early winter air in December outside.

Winters were actually moderately cool in Zerura when compared to the harsher cold of Vallis but because of the cold air surrounding the lake near the palace that never froze over even in winter, it was actually colder than the rest of the region.

It was nothing Kyungsoo wasn’t used to, but he still found it very pleasant to lie in a soft, warm bed with someone while sharing their body heat.

Since Kyungsoo’s stomach had grown very large as the pregnancy advanced, he found it uncomfortable to lie on his back and thus only laid down and slept on his side.

In this position, lying on his side, Kyungsoo was facing Chanyeol who had also decided to lie on his side so they could face each other.

Chanyeol smiled, pushing Kyungsoo’s hair out from his face as he moved his hand lower down to Kyungsoo’s nape, gently massaging the area, softly cooing, “Go to sleep, Kyungsoo.”

“I’m trying,” Kyungsoo muttered, feeling comforted under Chanyeol’s touch but still a ways from falling asleep, “You go to sleep too. Don’t you have a lot of things to do too?”

“Mmm…yes, a lot of things,” Chanyeol murmured, already feeling tired himself as he let his hand rest on the side of Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Why don’t you go to sleep first then? I’ll watch over you until you fall asleep,” Kyungsoo suggested, speaking lowly so as to not a sleepy Chanyeol.

“Okay then,” Chanyeol agreed, mumbling his words with his eyes already closed as he continued to rest his hand on Kyungsoo, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Kyungsoo replied softly, smiling as he watched Chanyeol peacefully drift to sleep while thinking about their soon-to-be-born child, who would be a carbon copy of both himself and Chanyeol.

Maybe, for a while, Kyungsoo was deluded into believing that he could maybe be together with Chanyeol and raise their child together; something he didn’t even really want to consider earlier on because he only looked forward to giving birth, handing the baby to Chanyeol and then leaving.

**

Kyungsoo entered the seventh month of pregnancy sometime in early January of 1918, almost a year since he first arrived in Zerura and last heard of anything from his own country.

During the time Kyungsoo had been there, there had been several diplomatic trips made by Vallisean officials to Zerura but they had been held in another city and handled by King Junmyeon instead of Chanyeol.

In fact, Kyungsoo wasn’t even made aware of these diplomatic trips until they were over for at least a week or two.

The apparent radio silence from his own country was one thing. The fact that it seemed as if the Zerurian palace was also controlling what Kyungsoo heard from the outside world made it even more suspicious.

Kyungsoo had these suspicions for a while now but he merely accepted things as they were, justifying it with the fact that he had to be on his best behavior while under the care of a foreign power.

Kyungsoo did question it but he had admittedly been too busy dealing with his own emotions, his soon to become a parent and his duty towards both countries to worry about such things. After all, it wasn’t as if he was being starved, hurt and deprived of his needs and wants.

In fact, his stay on Zerura had been pleasant so far with people often going out of their way to accommodate him.

However, on that cold, grey and snowy early January morning, Kyungsoo wished that maybe he had been more attentive to his suspicions instead of his emotions and trying to get used to his situation.

Kyungsoo was in a study room in the palace that morning, sitting at a desk while writing down in his blue notebook that he had also been using as a journal.

The large glass windows were behind the desk and chair where Kyungsoo sat at. The heavy crimson red curtains had been drawn open to let in some light from outside, although because of the winter season and snow, it was still rather grey and dim.

Soft snow was falling outside, blanketing the exterior atmosphere in a blanket of white, muffling all the ambient noise leaving just the occasional winter winds coming from the mountain and over the lake, howling and occasionally rattling the glass panes as it blew past the palace.

Inside the study, Kyungsoo was stunned and silent just like the outside, when Minseok handed him a stack of envelopes bound together by a string with Vallisean stamps on it addressed to him and dated from ten months to a month ago.

All these while, Baekhyun, Yixing and even Seungwan had indeed been writing back to Kyungsoo, although their letters never reached him as they were filtered by the palace and kept hidden from him. On the contrary, Kyungsoo wondered if his letters ever reached them but he could already guess that it had not either.

“I am extremely sorry, your Highness,” Minseok bowed in front of Kyungsoo’s desk, “I was to never hand these letters to you ever but I cannot go through with this anymore. There is a reason why you weren’t allowed to have contact or know about the outside world. For the past month, I have secretly been in contact with your assistants, Baekhyun and Yixing. Secretly, we have arranged for this day to take you out of Zerura. I have packed your essentials. You need to leave now or else the Crown Prince and Jongdae will kill you.”

“I don’t understand,” Kyungsoo was baffled, rising to his feet and pushing the chair back, dropping the stack of envelopes in his hand onto the table.

“Prince Chanyeol never intended for you to leave this country alive. He lied to you. He will kill you once you have given birth to his child and are of no use to him anymore. He and Jongdae have even planned to make your death look like you had died in childbirth instead,” Minseok clarified, “I was roped in to help them with this plan but I cannot handle this guilt anymore. I do not want to be an accomplice to a murder, especially to someone who I have already considered my friend too.”

Kyungsoo remained frozen where he stood, much like the cold weather outside, still trying to process what was being told to him.

“Please, your Highness. You have to leave,” Minseok begged, wary and often turning to look to his side and behind to make sure they were really alone in the study room, “There’s a reason why he didn’t want to marry you and made some excuse about it, even if your real purpose of being here was to marry him.”

“-but I still don’t understand,” Kyungsoo too spoke lowly, wanting to avoid being overheard, “What did I do to make him want to kill me? As far as I’ve known, our countries have had good relations with each other for centuries. We’ve been close too as of late. He’s a good friend to me. This is all too sudden.”

“I do not know the actual reason behind it,” Minseok clarified, “-but I do know that this has nothing to do with politics and is merely a personal matter. In fact, I think the King might be involved too. I really do not know the details but I do know that if you stay here any longer, you will be killed so please, you have to leave now.”

“Where do I go?” Kyungsoo began to panic, “If the King is really involved then where can I escape if he rules this entire country?”

“Go down to the staff cabin by the lake. There’s a boat waiting by the pier with your friends, Baekhyun and Yixing. They’re here already. I have told them where and how to smuggle you out of this country. You need to go home to Vallis where you’re safe.”

“If I return to Vallis and tell my mother that Chanyeol and King Junmyeon tried to kill me, it could start a war! Innocent lives could be lost unnecessarily,” Kyungsoo stressed, lurching forward to grab Minseok’s hand

“I really don’t know what to say about that,” Minseok strained, shaking his head and unable to look at Kyungsoo in the eye, “-you’re the one who is good at handling those things. I know that you will act in the best interest not only for your country but also yours. I trust you, Your Highness, which is why I cannot let you die.”

“Then what happens to you if they find out I’m gone and have run away? They’ll eventually find out that it was you who tipped me off. Why don’t you come with me too?” Kyungsoo concerned, tugging onto Minseok’s hand

Minseok chuckled dryly, pulling his hand away from Kyungsoo, “I can only see you off but I cannot follow you, Your Highness. I will stay to deter them for as long as I can so you can have a head start. This is my home country, so I will remain here and see it until the end.”

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo apologized, letting go Minseok’s hand.

“It’s fine,” Minseok tried to assure, taking a deep breath before letting it go as a sigh.

Under the cover of the snow and with Minseok who helped cover his tracks and made sure he was alone, a heavily Kyungsoo pregnant wearing civilian clothes and only carrying a single bag, ran in the cold all the way down to the snowy pier beside Heaven’s Lake where sure enough, a small sailboat was already waiting for him with two very familiar people in it.

Baekhyun and Yixing had managed to sneak into Zerura a few days ago with Minseok’s instructions; which involved bribing a fisherman to bring them from Vallis and into Zerurian waters before dropping them off at one of the smaller islets, where someone else hired by Minseok picked them up before eventually making their way here.

Baekhyun and Yixing were dressed in thick white winter coats to blend in with the surrounding, under the falling snow. The moment they caught glimpse of Kyungsoo running towards their direction, Baekhyun immediately leaped out of the sailboat and onto the pier, leaving Yixing behind to stabilize the rocking boat because of Baekhyun’s sudden movement.

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun exclaimed, running into Kyungsoo’s arms to pull his best friend into a tight hug, “You’re alright. We were so worried when we didn’t hear from you and then Minseok told us about Chanyeol’s plan to kill you and how we had to come to get you. I thought I’d never see you again.”

Kyungsoo sobbed, his tears running down warm on his cheek in contrast to the surrounding cold, burying his face in Baekhyun’s shoulder, “I missed you, Baekhyun. I just found out about it today too.”

“I know. Minseok told us he was only going to tell you today because he didn’t want to stress you out. I mean, look at you,” Baekhyun pulled away from the hug to look down between them at Kyungsoo’s bulging pregnant belly.

“I know,” Kyungsoo nodded in tears, then seeing Yixing walking up from behind Baekhyun. Kyungsoo broke away from the hug only to then hug Yixing, “I am so glad to see you too. I still have a hard time believing that this really happening to me.”

“Rest assured,” Yixing hugged Kyungsoo back, patting him on the back and making sure to not bump into his stomach, “No one except us knows about this for now. We’ll bring you home safely.”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo nodded, feeling the cold harsh wind blowing over the lake on his face as he was embraced in a brief group hug with his two best friends before they had to depart shortly.

With the help of the wind and Baekhyun and Yixing’s rowing to speed things up, they managed to sail out of the lake cove, staying close to shore before alighting at the forested lake shoreline. Kyungsoo thought that they were going to sail out to sea through the fjord that connected Heaven’s Lake to the ocean, but that wasn’t the plan.

Yixing sunk the boat at the shoreline, removing evidence of their escape before they made their way on foot through the snowy forest at the foot of the hill that surrounded the lake.

Even in the cold and despite being pregnant, Kyungsoo did not falter and did not allow himself to fall back as deadweight. All the years of military and physical training were not put to waste, not even while heavily pregnant and coursing through the harrowing cold of Zerurian winters.

Kyungsoo proved that he was a fighter indeed and not someone who needed sympathy.

Then, the trio continued their trek through the forests for a few hours before eventually making their way out at a small dirt road, where a car was already waiting there for them, which Minseok had also arranged for.

From there, Yixing drove them all the way to a small fishing town several hours away. There, they would hire a boat to take them out to the middle of the ocean before being picked up by the same Vallisean fisherman who had helped smuggle them there in the first place, in exchange for not reporting on the said fisherman for fishing in illegal waters.

By the time they were already on the fishing boat and sailing on Vallisean waters at night, headed back to the Vallis mainland, Chanyeol had just returned to the palace only to find Kyungsoo missing. It would still be a bit while more until Chanyeol discovered that Kyungsoo had run away with Minseok’s assistance.

Kyungsoo didn’t really care to know how Minseok exactly knew the way to smuggle people in and out of the country but he was sure as hell grateful for that.

Aboard the fishing boat under the swaying gas lamp, as the ship rocked through the cold waters, while wrapped in a thick blanket, Kyungsoo was worried not just for himself but his friends and even Minseok. All the while, still figuring out why Chanyeol and possibly Junmyeon too wanted him dead.

Kyungsoo had wanted to believe that his and Chanyeol’s relationship had been growing and improving. But maybe, it was just Kyungsoo who had only thought that way all this time.

At this point, Kyungsoo was just more disappointed than he was afraid.

**

Back in the palace, almost twelve hours since Kyungsoo had fled and was now out in a fishing boat close to Vallisean shores; Chanyeol had just discovered about Kyungsoo’s disappearance.

Chanyeol had mobilized the palace guards and even the Alberta city police to search for Kyungsoo if he could be there. He hadn’t yet dared to notify his father of Kyungsoo’s disappearance, fearing his father’s anger and retaliation for it.

Chanyeol sighed behind a desk, running his hands through his hair, grabbing on a fistful of his blond locks as he gritted his teeth, cursing, “Damn it! He must have known about our plan, which is why he fled.”

“He couldn’t have possibly known, not after all the efforts we went through to hide it from him,” Jongdae tried to reason, standing at attention beside Chanyeol’s desk.

“Not unless someone told him of course,” Chanyeol hissed, slamming a fist down on the surface of his desk, “Where’s Minseok?”

“He joined in one the search teams looking for Kyungsoo,” Jongdae gulped.

“Summon him back here to the palace. He’s just pretending to look for Kyungsoo to deter us. I bet he knows where Kyungsoo is because he’s the one who helped him escape,” Chanyeol accused.

“Are you sure of that, your Highness?” Jongdae was reluctant and found it hard to believe that Minseok would have betrayed them.

“Who else could it be if it weren’t him? He’s one of the few people who know about our plan and he’s the closest to Kyungsoo too,” Chanyeol snapped, “Who knows how long ago Minseok had told Kyungsoo about our plan too? Summon Minseok back to the palace now!”

“Yes, your Highness,” Jongdae bowed, hastily leaving the room to carry out the task he was given, rather intimidated by Chanyeol’s anger which he didn’t often get to experience.

Stressed and angry that Kyungsoo had defied him by escaping, Chanyeol stomped over to a wine rack available in his private office.

Chanyeol pulled the cork open from a bottle of aged red wine, throwing the cork to the floor before drinking the wine straight up from the bottle. He couldn’t even be bothered for pleasantries such as picking out the right glass to drink from.

Chanyeol hated this feeling, which was to feel like he had no power and was no longer in control. It was one of the few emotions that made Chanyeol “lose it”, especially now that Kyungsoo had defied him by escaping and thus breaking free from Chanyeol’s control over him.

In a fit of frustration, Chanyeol threw the wine bottle to the carpeted floor, spilling the remaining contents of the red wine but not breaking the glass.

Then, he staggered all the way to the fireplace, looking disheveled as hell with red wine stains down his dress shirt and cravat.

Chanyeol put a hand out on the mantel, using it to stabilize his staggering movements.

The fire in the hearth was burning bright and crackling. On the mantel was a small clock and several photo frames, a common decoration for every fireplace in the palace.

There on the fireplace mantel in Chanyeol’s private office was the official portrait of his deceased mother, the former Queen consort. In it, she was wearing a red dress to symbolize the official color of Zerura and a crown on top of her dark hair.

The portrait had been taken when she was in better health and thus, Chanyeol’s mother looked far better than she really was towards the end of her life.

“Are you happy now?” Chanyeol cackled to himself upon seeing her portrait there, “Do you still wish that you could kill me? Especially if you could see the person I have become today? Are you disappointed, mother?”

“Talk to me!” Chanyeol yelled at the portrait of his mother, slamming his fist against it before he began laughing to himself again, “Of course. You’re dead, so you cannot say anything else to me anymore. You know, I’ve never trusted anyone who could give birth after what you did to me. Which is why I have to kill Kyungsoo before he becomes like you and kills my child one day. Kyungsoo’s death will be on you, mother. I didn’t want to have to do it but you made me do it. You killed him.”

Before Chanyeol could finish his monologue, he felt a sharp searing pain in the side of his stomach, causing him to drop to his knees on the carpeted floor, hissing from the pain.

Chanyeol clutched his body where it hurt; the same location where he was slashed by his father with a sword last year. The wound never really did heal properly and left him with a permanent scar that hurt especially on cold nights like these.

Chanyeol was somehow convinced that because the sword used to hurt him was for decoration and ornamental purposes, it wasn’t that sturdy and that a small metal shard had broken away and was lodged inside his flesh, causing him all the pain he felt.

“Screw it,” Chanyeol swore, pushing himself into a sitting position on the carpeted floor beside the fireplace, not finding it in himself to really care as he continued to clutch his side where it hurt, “I hope this thing travels through my bloodstream and into my heart so it kills me. All I’ve been doing is suffer anyway.”

Just then, Jongdae stormed back into Chanyeol’s private office. Upon noticing Chanyeol looking very much in pain on the floor, Jongdae quickly apologized, “I am sorry to barge in so suddenly, your Highness.”

Jongdae’s instinct as a friend was to go help Chanyeol up but his duty as the assistant of a prince told him otherwise so as to not further hurt Chanyeol’s already damaged ego.

“What is it?” Chanyeol almost tiredly asked, looking up at Jongdae who was still at the door.

“Your Highness, we have located Minseok and he is being brought back to the palace as we speak,” Jongdae informed.

“Good, bring him in as soon as possible,” Chanyeol ordered, looking away.

Minseok was brought to the palace and then detained in one of the holding cells in the basement, under the suspicion of helping Kyungsoo escape the palace and leaking out Chanyeol’s plan to assassinate the said Vallisean prince. 

In the detainment facility at the palace’s basement with walls thick as a fortress, strong thick iron bars and torches that lit the way, Chanyeol and Jongdae came to seek answers from Minseok who was put behind bars.

Chanyeol sat on a wooden chair near a wall outside one of the cells, which was usually used by the guard on duty if they happened to be detaining someone there. However, since it was a relatively peaceful era, there was usually never a guard on duty or someone to be detained.

The place itself was too merely a relic from older and more turbulent times.

Chanyeol sat up straight on the chair, ignoring the pain in his side as he crossed his legs and clutched his palms together, resting them on his legs, “Where did Kyungsoo escape to? I know you know, Minseok.”

From behind bars, Minseok displayed a neutral expression while standing, remaining silent even when questioned by Chanyeol.

“You have to tell us, Minseok!” Jongdae insisted, standing from outside near the bars, “This isn’t just about you anymore. The relations of both our countries are at stake here. We could go to war!”

“If you didn’t want to go to war with a big nation and an army larger than our total population, then you shouldn’t have tried to kill their prince,” Minseok argued back.

Jongdae was rendered speechless, unable to find fault in Minseok’s words.

“It’s a necessary sacrifice,” Chanyeol insisted from the chair, hissing, “We’ve planned this from even before Kyungsoo arrived here and you had to go ruin all of it.”

“Well, I can’t just sit by and watch an innocent man be killed for your personal reasons. I got this job because I wanted to help serve you and the country for its best purpose. But when you said you wanted to kill Kyungsoo, I don’t think that this is for the best anymore,” Minseok dared to talk back against Chanyeol.

“So, you think it’s just that?” Chanyeol sneered, “-that I want Kyungsoo dead because I’m traumatized by what my late mother did to me, which is why I’m afraid Kyungsoo will treat our child like that so that I have to kill him before he does so? This is more than that!”

“Even if that’s not the case, then how can you just judge him like that?! I know Kyungsoo and he is not a person who would do such a thing,” Minseok defended, “Weren’t you close to him too? You should know that he is not your mother!”

“Minseok, please just tell us where you sent him off to,” Jongdae begged, worriedly looking at his friend and then back at Chanyeol sitting behind him, “I don’t want this to end badly for you.”

“Forget it,” Chanyeol sighed, “We have men out there looking for Kyungsoo right now. They’ll probably find him faster than you can get Minseok to talk. We’ll deal with him later. Just make sure his meals are taken care of while he’s being detained.”

“Yes, your Highness,” Jongdae muttered, only able to look disappointedly at Minseok who still had a blank look on his face as he refrained from trying to show any kind of emotion.

**

Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Yixing safely made their passage back into Vallis that snow January night, illegally entering the country they were a citizen of.

The fishing boat that smuggled them into Vallis made port at a small seaside village named Ostville, due to its proximity to the Ostshore Bridge and channel. The village was located on the West coast of the Teren continent and at least a hundred kilometers from the nearest land belonging to Zerura.

Instead of making their way back to Verndina, the trio continued to stay in Ostville, making their temporary residence in a monastery on a cliff by the sea. It so happened that a former servant of Kyungsoo who had served him when he was a teenager, had joined the said monastery as a nun after she retired some years ago.

With her help and the monastery’s general openness to wandering travelers; Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Yixing were able to stay there until the situation died down as it was crucial in their plans to not return to Verndina until Kyungsoo had given birth.

**

It was now February and they had been hiding, laying low at the monastery for over a month. Kyungsoo had a room to himself on the second floor of the residential building within the centuries-old monastery, with a window overlooking the sea outside.

Kyungsoo was over eight months pregnant and in a few weeks, he would be due anytime soon. It was such a crucial time in his pregnancy and he could have used all the medical checkups a regular pregnant person would need, but he would have to do with what he had in hand for now.

Luckily, for a long time, the monastery had been the safe place for many single unwed women and men who had to give birth alone. Therefore, one of the nuns was an experienced midwife and the other nuns were also well equipped to handle childbirth.

Sure, it was far from being as comfortable and fancy such as palaces and official royal residences that Kyungsoo was used to but he’d take being there any day than being killed by the man he had just learned to trust.

Kyungsoo sat down alone on the edge of the small single-sized wooden bed with a yellowed and worn mattress he had been sleeping on for the past month. The blanket he was given was old and tattered but it did its job of keeping him warm. Other than the bed, the only other pieces of furniture were an old, creaky desk with a chair that seemed to match the same description.

It was cold. There was no such thing as a fireplace here, just a small coal stove that functioned as a space heater. The thick masonry walls that were built hundreds of ago seemed to do a good job of insulating the cold from outside too.

During the rush to flee the palace, Kyungsoo had left a lot of his personal belongings behind, which also included his blue notebook that had been a gift from his mother. All the souvenir he had bought and intended to bring home now was all probably forgotten about too. 

With nothing to do to pass the time, Kyungsoo often found himself reading books that he could get in the monastery’s library.

With a thick gray cardigan draped on his shoulders, sitting at the edge of the bed, Kyungsoo continued to read an old storybook when Baekhyun and Yixing came into his room.

“Hey,” Baekhyun greeted, raising an eyebrow as he leaned against the edge of the desk, “Yixing and I are going out to town to get some supplies. Do you want us to get you anything?”

Yixing pulled out the chair, sitting himself down sideways on it.

“No, not really,” Kyungsoo replied, looking up from the book and towards Baekhyun.

“-something on your mind?” Baekhyun hinted at.

“Kind of,” Kyungsoo admitted, sighing, “I mean, we’ve been here for a while now and it could be any day until Chanyeol and his men find us. When Zerura summoned me there to marry Chanyeol, we even thought of running away together and I didn’t even think we’d actually do that.”

Yixing spoke up, “As long as we’re in Vallis, we’ll have the upper hand. Chanyeol cannot trespass into our country, not unless he wants to declare an act of war. Furthermore, if he admits that he “lost” you, Zerura could land in hot water with our government for that. That’s why the Zerurian palace hasn’t said anything or made any sort of announcement. They’re still pretending like you are with them.”

“Of course they’d do that,” Kyungsoo tisked, “If you two didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have known that someone had been ghostwriting letters on my behalf to send home so no one would be suspicious of Chanyeol and his men. I bet they’re still sending letters on my behalf even now.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun agreed, “We thought the letters seemed off even if they managed to copy your handwriting and writing style. Yixing and I could just feel that it wasn’t you writing it.”

Yixing nodded, “-we still kept corresponding though but apparently, our letters never go to you either. Then two months ago, Minseok himself personally contacted us to inform that you were pregnant and Chanyeol would kill you once you gave birth.”

Kyungsoo nipped on a nail on his thumb, “Right now, not even my own mother knows I’m pregnant since the letters Zerura ghostwrote for me never mentioned it. We can get protection from her for sure but we can’t do that since it’ll mean exposing Chanyeol for wanting to kill me. That’ll sever relationships between our countries for sure. It might even lead to war and I don’t want that.”

“You remember when I suggested we go down South and run away there?” Baekhyun brought up, turning to look at Kyungsoo and then Yixing, “Don’t you have some family there too?”

“I mean I do, of course, but-“ Yixing responded.

“You both could go there if you want but I can’t come with you, not until I give birth,” Kyungsoo sighed yet again, “I can’t really do anything while I’m like this. I just can’t wait to give birth so I can actually go out there and confront Chanyeol for doing this to me.”

“If you’re not going, then we aren’t,” Baekhyun affirmed.

“Yes, we’re not letting you go anymore after this. We don’t care. At this point, we have already been considered as deserters for disappearing from our posts to break you out of Zerura. We’ll stay by your side,” Yixing assured.

“That’s right,” Baekhyun agreed, nodding along.

Kyungsoo laughed a little, “Once we’re done with all of this, I promise to have your positions reinstated and clear you two from any desertion charges.”

“We know you will. We always believed in you,” Yixing placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder as Baekhyun looked over them and smiled.

Not even two weeks later, Kyungsoo went into labor in the early morning of 19th February 1918, several weeks earlier than his expected due date.

With the help of the nuns, under a swinging thurible hanging from the monastery’s ceiling as the church bells loudly rang at exactly noon, Kyungsoo gave birth to a female omega; the child that Chanyeol had always wanted and the future queen of Zerura.

The moment the nuns handed Kyungsoo his newborn child and he felt her weight in his two hands; Kyungsoo felt the utmost fear not for himself but for his daughter. Kyungsoo broke into tears, unsure whether it was out of pure relief that his daughter was born healthy or whether he suddenly felt so vulnerable and fearful.

Right there and then, Kyungsoo decided that he eventually had to face Chanyeol sooner or later. 


	5. Crimson

Kyungsoo named his daughter Sowon for hope and a week after she was born, Kyungsoo sent Baekhyun with Sowon back to the capital city of Verndina, while he remained in the seaside town of Ostville with Yixing.

Baekhyun arrived in Verndina, not only with Sowon but also with a set of instructions to meet Joohyun and inform her about Kyungsoo giving birth and what had happened to him while he was in Zerura. Kyungsoo also relayed what he planned to do to confront Chanyeol through Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo knew what he was doing would be dangerous and could very severely affect relations between the two countries but at that time, it was the only way he could think of to ensure not only his own safety but that of his people, friends, family and especially Sowon.

Shocked to hear about what Kyungsoo had gone through and feeling accountable for her decision to send him away in the first place; in what was perceived to be a power move, Joohyun instructed the Vallis royal palace to publicly announce that Kyungsoo had given birth to a princess without mentioning who the other parent was.

The news of the royal birth was everywhere. Special monuments around Vallis were also lit up especially to commemorate the event. A public holiday was even planned to celebrate the birth of the Queen’s first grandchild.

Zerura, of course, heard about this and Chanyeol was beyond furious. Not just because Kyungsoo had run away from him and he had failed to track him down all this time. But because Kyungsoo had also now given birth and made his country announce the birth without even acknowledging Chanyeol as the other parent. Especially when he heard that the baby Kyungsoo had given birth to a female omega, which was strongly coveted to inherit the throne of Zerura.

For Chanyeol, the only good thing that came out of this was that he now knew where exactly Kyungsoo was; when the official ambassador of Vallis to Zerura had personally sent him a letter from Kyungsoo so they could meet and finally deal with “unfinished business”. 

Chanyeol needed his heir and he would never let Vallis have her, especially now that they seemed to be gloating that fact in his face with the public announcement and all.

By then, Junmyeon was well aware of Kyungsoo’s running away for a while now, although he had yet to confront Chanyeol about it, even knowing when it could threaten national security and bilateral ties between their countries. Mainly because he felt like it wasn’t his thing to deal with.

Despite being away from the palace and mainly doing his work from behind the scenes, Junmyeon knew what it was Chanyeol was doing or planned to do. In fact, it could be said that Junmyeon was the one who probably planted all these ideas into Chanyeol’s head in the first place. 

So when Junmyeon did too eventually hear about Kyungsoo giving birth to a child, who was also his grandson, he decided to retreat to his vacation home in the mountains because he wasn’t ready to deal with what was coming back to bite at him.

**

On the 6th of March, two weeks since Kyungsoo gave birth and about eight days since the announcement of Sowon’s birth was made, Chanyeol violated an international peace council treaty by entering Vallis with a platoon of soldiers in an unprecedented action.

The moment the train carrying Chanyeol and his platoon of men passed from over the Ostshore channel and into Vallis territory, a border guard had informed the Vallisean royal palace about this action, which was considered to be an unofficial declaration of war.

Hearing about this, Joohyun dispatched Seungwan and four times the numbers of soldiers Chanyeol had with him to the small town of Ostville, where Chanyeol was expected to meet Kyungsoo.

In the convent on the cliff overlooking the sea, Kyungsoo waited in the main church building, sitting on a pew with his back hunched over and resting his forehead on his clasped hands as if he was in prayer despite being not. The royal family of Vallis had long maintained being non-religious.

Kyungsoo was dressed in civilian clothes; a grey jacket on top of a white dress shirt and plain black trousers. His favorite saber was in a sheath and worn a belt on the left side of his hip.

Baekhyun had returned to Ostville a few days earlier just to deliver Kyungsoo the sword he said he’d need. Baekhyun and Yixing both didn’t need to question why Kyungsoo, who had just given birth two weeks ago, would even need his saber. 

They were worried but they also knew they wouldn’t be able to stop Kyungsoo.

The sun would be setting in a few hours and from outside the church on top of the cliff, the sun was already closer to the horizon above the rippling sea.

The soft natural light of the late afternoon in March seeped through the stained glass windows of the church hall, shining down its focused rays in the deserted church hall, illuminating the dust particles that floated in the air.

The convent and almost the entire town had been evacuated to the neighboring town in case a battle could break out with the presence of soldiers there.

It was quiet and deserted but the silence was then interrupted with Seungwan storming through the church hall and almost running down the aisle to meet her brother at the other end, sitting on a pew near the altar.

Kyungsoo lifted his head and turned around to face his younger sister who stood beside where he sat. She was dressed in her dark blue military uniform- reflecting the official colors of Vallis- with a short sword on her belt.

“I will have to ask you to rethink your decision. Do you seriously want to go up in a sword duel against the Crown Prince of Zerura? I do not doubt your abilities but you just gave birth fifteen days ago! You should rest, not fight against someone who is a formidable opponent too. We can take care of this.” Seungwan pleaded with a slightly stern yet concerned voice.

“No,” Kyungsoo calmly refused his sister, “Only I can do this. According to Zerurian law, it actually is still technically legal and acceptable to settle disputes through a swordfight duel. I have decided that I will do it for my freedom and that of my daughter, so we can be free from the clutch of Zerura. I told you I’d do this alone as the individual Do Kyungsoo and not as a prince of Vallis, which is why I’ve chosen to not wear my uniform today. I am merely representing myself and my daughter, not the country. If I win, we’ll be free.”

“I understand why you do this and I want to support you too but-,” Seungwan sympathized, “-we are extremely worried for you. Not just me and mother but also your friends, Baekhyun and Yixing.”

“I know, Seungwan, I know,” Kyungsoo reiterated, “-but I have to do this by myself. I don’t want our countries to be dragged into war because of my personal problem, which is why this just has to be me and no one else. More people will be implicated if I don’t handle things now.”

“I get it,” Seungwan heaved, her voice dropping, “-but what if you lose? I don’t want to lose you and I know a lot of people feel the same way too.”

Kyungsoo stood up, smiling softly and melancholically as he rested a hand on Seungwan’s shoulder, “I do not intend to lose to Chanyeol this time. Not now.”

At half-past four in the afternoon, Chanyeol and his platoon of soldiers arrived in the deserted town of Ostville. Seungwan held off the Vallisean soldiers, not giving them the orders to engage unless she deemed it necessary, as they waited in an old abandoned castle not far from the convent on the cliff.

Baekhyun and Yixing were with Seungwan too and the Vallisean soldiers, awaiting orders. As much as anyone there wanted to intervene, this was personal and only something Kyungsoo could do himself.

There was not much anyone could do except to rely on their belief and the trust they had for Kyungsoo.

“I will proceed alone,” Chanyeol turned his head to say, taking off his black leather gloves which he then passed to Jongdae.

“Very well, your highness,” Jongdae bowed his head, taking Chanyeol’s gloves.

Chanyeol, Jongdae and a few of their soldiers were already in the convent’s compound atop the cliff, although still a walks away from the main church building which Kyungsoo had aforementioned in his letter to Chanyeol to be the place for them to duel on-and-one with each other.

The other Zerurian soldiers were scattered around the town and its perimeter, all of them including Chanyeol and Jongdae were dressed in the official rufescent red military uniform of Zerura.

Chanyeol, otherwise looking smart and proper as always, especially in uniform, was visibly distressed and his face was a contortion of both anger and fear. He was confident but he wasn’t too hopeful.

“Await orders and if I do not come out from there in an hour, you and the platoon may proceed inside. No matter what you see or hear, do not proceed unless those conditions are met,” Chanyeol ordered, drawing his saber out from its sheath before walking up to the church building with his saber in hand.

“I understand,” Jongdae nodded and once Chanyeol was out of earshot, he sighed, watching Chanyeol walk on the green grass that covered the cliff as the crown prince’s back grew smaller the closer he got to the church hall building.

Grasping onto Chanyeol’s gloves which were still in his hand, Jongdae turned to look out to the sea, feeling the warm wind from the sea which blew everywhere even when winter hadn’t officially ended. Thick gray clouds were blowing in over the cliff by the sea, signifying an incoming storm.

Maybe they didn’t realize it themselves or hated to admit it but Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were actually quite rather similar to each other. The people around them did certainly notice this though.

Chanyeol pushed the heavy church doors open and shut them close with a loud thud, where he was then met with the sight of Kyungsoo staring him down from halfway down the aisle.

Kyungsoo’s sword was still sheathed and hung from the belt on his waist, while Chanyeol had his out for a while now.

Now that Chanyeol had a better look, Kyungsoo’s expression was rather neutral and almost emotionless. It baffled Chanyeol how Kyungsoo was seemingly not feeling anything about this at all; when Chanyeol himself was drowning in his own emotions.

In reality, Kyungsoo just had a lot more time to process and accept his feelings unlike Chanyeol, which made him far more prepared for this confrontation.

“So you really have given birth already. That was earlier than what we both expected,” Chanyeol commented, lowering his gaze to Kyungsoo’s now flat stomach and then back up towards the latter’s face as a strand of hair fell from his neatly combed blonde hair.

Kyungsoo remained silent, almost impossible to read.

Chanyeol then continued, “It certainly did cross my mind that the announcement of the birth was a lie and that you hadn’t given birth yet, to act as a ploy to drag me out here.” Chanyeol’s tone of voice quickly shifted and he now sounded confrontative, “Where is my daughter, Kyungsoo? Give her to me!”

Kyungsoo quickly answered, “She’s somewhere safe, Chanyeol, and she is _my_ daughter too. I didn’t carry her for nine months and go through eight hours of labor just so I can hand her over to you just like that.”

“We had an agreement!” Chanyeol almost yelled, “You didn’t want to be a parent! You told me you’d hand me over our child once you have given birth!”

“That is true,” Kyungsoo affirmed, speaking loud but clearly, “We did indeed have an agreement around this time last year and I also do recall not wanting to become a parent but now that I am, I have to be responsible for our child. Besides, you lied to me, so our agreement is invalid now. You promised me you’d send me home once this was all over but you planned to kill me all along. If I had stayed in your palace, I’d be six feet under the ground now.”

Chanyeol did not respond to that, not denying it either because he knew it was very much real and there was no use to lie about it anymore with the truth already up in the air.

“We don’t have to do this,” Chanyeol attempted to bargain, gripping the handle of his saber even tighter in his hand. 

“-do what exactly?” Kyungsoo returned, “You expect me to just surrender myself to you, so you can later kill me like you always wanted? I think we both know that I’m not going to just take this lying down. Like I have made it clear in my letter, I will fight for my life here and if I win, I get to walk away with my daughter and there won’t be too many repercussions for Zerura too since we can just consider this a personal matter and not a blatant violation of international peace laws.”

“Fine, if that’s what you want,” Chanyeol hissed, “I will just have to fight you then as you wish. Mind you, I never lose.”

“Of course,” Kyungsoo said nonchalantly, drawing his saber from the sheath, his heart rate already beginning to quicken.

Kyungsoo really hated confrontations and unnecessary violence, especially knowing that he’d have to hurt Chanyeol for his life. But right now, he really felt that this was absolutely necessary.

Little by little, Kyungsoo was beginning to understand the intent to kill, which he could feel a little during that fencing match with Chanyeol last year. Now, Kyungsoo had no reasons to hold back to save Chanyeol’s pride or his ego. He could finally prove to Chanyeol the extent of his full capability and skills.

As the skies grew darker and the clouds gathered above grew thicker, the winds outside began to blow harder and howled, the sounds of it hitting the stained glass panes resonating through the empty church halls.

The storm was approaching faster as if God himself was trying to send a message to those two engaged in a fierce swordfight in his own house.

Soon, the first raindrops were already falling and splattering against the roof and glass windows.

With his saber in hand, Kyungsoo quickly advanced forward with his steady and stable footwork to slash at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol was fast and managed to parry the attack with the blunt side of his saber before quickly retreating backwards to put more distance between himself and Kyungsoo.

None of them moved from their spots, waiting for the other to make the first move as they only exchanged heavy glances but no more words.

In an unprecedented move, Kyungsoo ripped the jacket he was wearing off of himself before flinging it towards Chanyeol who was rather bewildered at such an action.

While avoiding the jacket to avoid from the action being used a ruse to distract him, Kyungsoo quickly retreated and hid under one of the many rows upon rows of church pews.

Even for Kyungsoo, this was a risky move. He would have to have at least his upper body up high enough if he wanted to swing his saber towards Chanyeol for an attack. Under the pew and in between it, there was not enough room for Kyungsoo to swing his saber and that actually put him in a disadvantage if Chanyeol found where he was. Which Chanyeol did anyway.

Chanyeol swung his saber down from above his head vertically to hit Kyungsoo, who managed to evade the attack by moving sideways, jumping over the pews in front of him.

Before Chanyeol could switch his orientation for a lateral attack, Kyungsoo was already swinging his own saber with the blade aimed directly towards Chanyeol’s face because of the elevation advantage he had by still standing on the church pew.

Chanyeol ducked his head fast enough to avoid his face from being cut in half but was not fast enough to avoid getting cut on his earlobes.

With his free left hand, Chanyeol cupped his bleeding ear to make sure it was still there, thinking that Kyungsoo might have cut it off. He still had his ear but Kyungsoo had managed to detach a small bit of flesh from his earlobe, and even maybe perforate a vein.

Chanyeol hissed through the pain as the wound began to bleed and run down his face and neck, staining his red uniform into a darker red that almost appeared black as a result.

Chanyeol felt his face heat up and redden as blood rushed through his head, roaring in his eardrums as he continued to bleed profusely from his ear.

Still cupping his bloody ear with one hand and holding his saber in the other, a panting Chanyeol lifted his head to look up and see Kyungsoo standing on the aisle while leaning against the edge of a pew some rows from where Chanyeol himself was standing.

Kyungsoo looked similarly out of breath too despite being unharmed. He was clutching his stomach and appeared to just appear overall fatigued and pale, which was not something unusual for someone who had just given birth two weeks ago.

Kyungsoo didn’t hesitate and even when he had barely managed to catch his breath, he was already moving out to the center of the aisle.

Chanyeol too moved to the center of the aisle, where Kyungsoo was now standing too, facing him with their swords in their hands.

Boldly, Kyungsoo simply sauntered up the aisle to make his way down to Chanyeol, who didn’t really know what to do when Kyungsoo so calmly approached him like that.

Chanyeol was expecting a dash, a stabbing move, a strike or something else; certainly not just Kyungsoo placidly walking to him like that.

Chanyeol began to hyperventilate and he panicked, fearing defeat because that was not something he was accustomed to. He couldn’t fathom how Kyungsoo was just so fine as if nothing was wrong between them, when Chanyeol himself felt like the earth beneath his feet was giving way.

Despite the chilly weather in March and the storm raging outside, Chanyeol began to sweat through his palms in those short few seconds that felt like an eternity.

Fearing he might even let the saber slip from his hands, Chanyeol moved his arm backward and then forwards in a stabbing move directed towards Kyungsoo’s gut. Or at least that was what Chanyeol thought he did.

Instead, Chanyeol lost the grip of his saber as he could only watch helplessly with a face contorted in horror as the weapon fell to the ground, still being unable to move a single limb out of pure shock that he was facing defeat.

Kyungsoo saw the window of opportunity and took it, striking Chanyeol in the side of his abdomen at that exact spot where Kyungsoo knew Chanyeol had an injury at from the skirmish with his father.

Kyungsoo knew that the wound never really did heal properly because Chanyeol hid it from others and was thus unable to get proper treatment for it. Kyungsoo had heard Chanyeol saying that he suspected a shard of the sword was still embedded there in his flesh because of the pain he felt especially on cold days like these.

Using this knowledge, Kyungsoo had hit Chanyeol where he was the most physically vulnerable.

Chanyeol gasped and choked on his breath as he keeled over, immediately moving his hand to his side where Kyungsoo had just struck him.

Chanyeol fell to the ground on his knees, daring himself to look where he was hit, expecting a bad cut and more blood. Instead, he saw nothing wrong there at least, although the searing pain was very much evident and felt.

Chanyeol was confused as to why he wasn’t injured there when he was very sure of it. Chanyeol tilted his head to look up at Kyungsoo standing in front of him with his saber still out and pointed right at his face.

Chanyeol had his answer now. Kyungsoo had flipped his saber and was now using it in a way where the blunt edge of the blade would be striking the opponent instead of the sharp edge. Chanyeol knew that Kyungsoo had done this on purpose.

Seeing this, Chanyeol laughed dryly, slamming a fist onto the floor, “Why haven’t you finished me off already? I hate to admit it but it’s clear that you’re the winner of this duel. Go ahead and do it. You won.”

Kyungsoo kept silent, his breathing beginning to slow down and his heart rate beginning to stabilize. Despite the storm outside raging at its fullest, Kyungsoo was calm and collected at this point of time.

Chanyeol had lost all the level-headedness he had in the duel and Kyungsoo was hardly even bothered.

“What are you waiting for!?” Chanyeol yelled, causing another sharp pain in his side, while the blood running from his ear had seemed to slow down, “Kill me! My parents never wanted me and they wished I was dead anyway. Just do it now!”

“No,” Kyungsoo replied calmly towards Chanyeol’s anger.

Kyungsoo picked up the scabbard of his saber before sheathing his saber back inside as he continued to answer, “I won’t kill you. Killing you is easy but letting you live is the hard part. You were abused as a child and even now. You are just repeating the cycle of abuse and fear that was indicted onto you. If I kill you, I’ll just become like your parents and I don’t want that. I want you to break the cycle and free yourself from this misery. I know there’s a better you inside there. You don’t have to continue it. Do you really want our daughter to be raised the way you were? Don’t you want the best for her instead?”

Chanyeol was stunned, mouth half-open. Chanyeol didn’t care so much for himself but when his daughter whom he had yet to meet was brought up, Chanyeol began to realize that Kyungsoo was right.

Chanyeol would never wish the kind of upbringing he had even on his enemy, least to say his own daughter. This didn’t have to continue. Chanyeol could be better.

“Why do you do this?” Chanyeol muttered, hanging his head, unable to look up into Kyungsoo’s eye anymore either from the pain or shame he felt, “As an omega, you were always overlooked and undermined for something you couldn’t control. Why are you helping and sacrificing yourself for someone who has hurt you? Especially an alpha like me?”

“I already said it, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo repeated, “I don’t want to repeat the cycle. If I treat the people who wronged me the same way they have treated me, I am just breeding more hate in this world and I don’t want that. I know there’s not much I can do as one person in only one lifetime, but I can hope to be a stepping stone for the future so everyone can live one day in harmony and understanding of each other. Even if I’ll never be able to live to see the day it finally comes true.”

Chanyeol chuckled, crying a little, “You would have made a better future king than me. It’s such a shame I wasn’t more like you.”

“I do not care about being king although it would have been nice if I could,” Kyungsoo said, “I believe my position is fine and influential as it is for me to do something.”

Chanyeol continued to hang his head low, shaking it as he cried while clutching his side. Kyungsoo was all Chanyeol had wished to be.

Chanyeol passed out shortly later.

**

Chanyeol was right about his suspicion of a sword shard still being embedded in his side from the skirmish he had with Junmyeon.

Kyungsoo hitting him there again had aggravated it, even more, causing the shard inside Chanyeol to shift and injure him even more from within.

After Chanyeol passed out in the church, Kyungsoo rushed out into the storm to find Jongdae and Chanyeol’s men still standing there awaiting their orders.

It was Kyungsoo who informed Jongdae about Chanyeol needing medical attention and what was exactly wrong with him, even if it meant telling someone else about the fight Chanyeol had with Junmyeon.

It was also Kyungsoo who told Seungwan to hold off their soldiers as there was no need for anyone else to be fighting.

The matter was resolved peacefully with the Zerurian soldiers, except Jongdae, being sent home and the whole incident being covered up as a “joint military exercise and training drill”.

Chanyeol remained in Vallis for a little more to undergo immediate surgery to remove the sword shard inside him.

Two full days since their confrontation, Chanyeol woke up in a bed in one of the rooms in the royal palace of Vallis. His side still hurt but the kind of pain was more numbing than stabbing.

Chanyeol was awake before the surgery and he knew what exactly was going on. Now knowing that the sword shard inside him had been safely removed, Chanyeol not only felt like a nuisance had been rid of but also a lot of the weight and baggage he carried from the past.

It was liberating and already, Chanyeol felt free, although there was still the feeling of dread for when he had to eventually return to Zerura and inevitably meet his father again.

But for now, even in a foreign land, Chanyeol felt safe because he knew Kyungsoo would never do to him what Chanyeol did onto Kyungsoo.

Jongdae came into the room shortly after Chanyeol woke up to attend to him. Chanyeol asked a lot of questions as he was briefed about the current situation and how he would have a lot of talking to do with both his father and Joohyun later on for what he did.

But above all, Chanyeol was actually relieved that didn’t blow out way too much considering his actions of almost wanting to kill Kyungsoo. He could have almost started a war single-handedly for what he had done.

Then, when that was done with, Jongdae stepped aside so Kyungsoo could come into the room while Chanyeol was still on the bed, unable to get up and move around yet post-surgery.

This time, Kyungsoo came to visit while carrying their daughter in his arms, with Baekhyun and Yixing also in the same room to accompany Kyungsoo for safety reasons.

“I see you woke up,” Kyungsoo noted, arching an eyebrow as he tenderly cradled Sowon, wrapped in a blanket in his arms while he sat on a chair beside Chanyeol’s bed.

“I have,” Chanyeol answered, unblinking, looking up at both Kyungsoo and especially Sowon whom he was seeing for the first time, “You look healthy.”

“I am, thank you. You seem better too,” Kyungsoo responded, “Do you want to hold our daughter?”

“O-Of course,” Chanyeol stuttered a little, feeling giddy at the thought alone. Now that he was getting to see Sowon for the first time, it really did hit Chanyeol that he was now a father and then suddenly all of Kyungsoo’s words about leaving her a better world seemed to make even more sense.

Yixing stepped forward to help Chanyeol into a sitting position, propping up his back with some pillows, before Kyungsoo carefully passed a sleeping Sowon into Chanyeol’s arms.

Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile, teary-eyed as he held Sowon, feeling her small figure and weight in his hands. Chanyeol still found it hard to believe that he had really become someone’s father but this was his reality now and he was more than welcome to accept it. 

“She’s beautiful,” Chanyeol commented, still smiling as he watched Sowon twitch a little in her sleep, making low “eh” sounds as she did so.

“I know,” Kyungsoo nodded, crossing his legs on the chair he sat on, “I named her already. Her name is Sowon. You can’t change her name but she can have your family’s surname. That’s all I ask for.”

Chanyeol looked up to Kyungsoo and smiled too. In mind, Chanyeol had always long decided he’d be the one who got to make all the decisions for their child, including naming her. Letting Kyungsoo name her was a defeat to him in a way but Chanyeol accepted that loss.

“Okay,” Chanyeol muttered, “Sowon it is then. She’s beautiful, just like you.”

In the background, Yixing and Baekhyun both fake coughed at the statement they heard very clearly.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Kyungsoo smiled, closing his eyes at the same time, simply feeling pleased and not even the least bit abashed.

**

Two weeks later, Chanyeol returned to Zerura with Jongdae, leaving Sowon behind with Kyungsoo in Vallis.

Even though Kyungsoo had agreed to hand over Sowon to Chanyeol right after she was born as per their previous agreement, Chanyeol now realized it was better for Sowon to be with Kyungsoo especially during the first few months.

Chanyeol had no doubt that Sowon would be well taken care of in Vallis.

And eventually, the time came when Chanyeol would have to face his father for his actions. When the time did come, Chanyeol was scared and even wished that Kyungsoo was there with him because he was afraid of going through it alone.

But this time, Chanyeol had Jongdae and even Minseok’s support. They had always loyally supported and believed in Chanyeol anyway; it was just Chanyeol who failed to realize that.

As for Minseok, he had since been released from detainment and Chanyeol had chosen to pardon all his charges for acting as an accomplice in letting Kyungsoo escape. There was even a plan to promote Minseok to a position similar to Jongdae’s in the very near future. After all, if it wasn’t for Minseok, Chanyeol would have done something irreversible, which he would come to regret very much.

On a cool and quiet night early in the spring, Chanyeol met Junmyeon in one of the palace’s sitting rooms. As usual, Junmyeon only really made the time to see Chanyeol when it was late in the night and almost everyone in the palace was asleep.

But unbeknownst to Junmyeon, Jongdae and Minseok were actually waiting outside the room in the dark, just in case something like previously would happen again.

Chanyeol had already given them the orders and permission to intervene if needed.

After hearing what Chanyeol had to say, Junmyeon leaned forward in the armchair he was sitting on, with his elbows on his lap and his face perched upon his hands; a habit in sitting that Chanyeol seemed to take after him too.

“I didn’t exactly ask you to go and kill him,” Junmyeon mentioned as the shadows and flames of the burning hearth from the fireplace were reflected all around them, “I just told you to be cautious of omegas because they cannot be trusted just like your mother. They’re all emotionally unstable, Chanyeol. Don’t you remember what happened? You don’t want that to happen again to you, which is why I told you to take the child for yourself and get rid of Kyungsoo once he gives birth. Kyungsoo will manipulate the child and turn her against you if he is given the chance. All omegas do that.”

To which Chanyeol responded, “It’s ironic how you speak that way of omegas, looking so lowly upon them and generalizing them all just because of one bad encounter you had with my mother, who happened to be an omega. But yet, you desperately want an omega to become the future king or queen of Zerura. You can’t just employ that kind of double standard as long as it fits you.”

“Where did you learn to speak to me like that!?” Junmyeon snapped, visibly irritated, “I bet it was that Vallisean omega who planted all these ideas into your head. I told you not to trust them!”

“No,” Chanyeol corrected, his voice slightly breaking at the rush of adrenaline from finally standing up against his father for the first time in the almost thirty years he had been alive, “You and mother are the same, blaming me and saying that I should have been born an omega instead, when all those things were out of my control. You made me grow up hating myself, always wishing I was someone else, even when I tried my hardest to please you both. You told me all these things to make me afraid and made me distrust Kyungsoo. You made me use Kyungsoo as nothing but an incubator to give you a grandchild. That was wrong, now I know. But honestly, I think Kyungsoo was the greatest person to ever even step foot in this palace. He is a good person and none of us are even half the person he is, no matter how much you undermine omegas.”

Junmyeon sat straight up, clenching his fists until his nails dugs into his skin, gritting his teeth and furrowing his eyebrows in anger.

Chanyeol stood up from his seat, standing proud and tall, “From today on, I will try to become a better father and parent than you could even dream of becoming. I know you won’t be able to do anything to me or Sowon even if you wanted because you need us to inherit your throne one day. I wish you good health and that you live long so you can even see Sowon become the Queen and one who will be much better than any our country has ever had. For that, I thank you.”

“You think it’s that simple?!” Junmyeon retorted loudly, standing on his feet as Chanyeol was already turning to leave. Junmyeon laughed, “Did you think that the reason why you have been betrothed to Kyungsoo since you were children is that I care so much about the relations between Zerura and Vallis. You know nothing of the truth!”

“I don’t really care to know now either,” Chanyeol said one last time before leaving the room.

With Chanyeol gone, Junmyeon burst into a fit of rage and fury, as he began smashing all the things in the room, breaking and destroying almost everything in sight from the glass on the table to the decorations on the shelves.

Clearly, Chanyeol had got it from his father; which was the character of being unable to receive a humiliating defeat at the hands of someone they perceived to be “lower” than them.

But there was a difference now and Chanyeol was slowly trying to fix that because his defeat had taught him something very important.

And another major difference now was that outside of the room, after finally standing up for himself in front of Junmyeon, Chanyeol had the genuine support of people who believed in and encouraged him to be a better person. Even if one of them was also an omega prince and currently in another country.

**

It was customary for babies born into the upper class and royal families to be breastfed by a wet nurse and not their own mothers, although Kyungsoo did breastfeed Sowon for the first few months before handing over the duties to the palace’s wet nurse.

One of the first things Kyungsoo did after no longer having to breastfeed was to go out drinking, after not doing so for almost a year since he found out he was pregnant. Now that he no longer had to worry about the alcohol getting into his blood if he still had to breastfeed.

After all the stress he had to endure in the past year, from being sent to another country, almost being killed and then giving birth; all Kyungsoo wanted to was to at least have some downtime now that he was back at home with the people he was most comfortable with.

Sowon was mostly taken care of by the nannies and wet nurses in the royal palace where Joohyun lived, so she could also supervise over the care of her granddaughter too.

Kyungsoo visited Sowon almost every day but he continued to live in his official residence with Baekhyun and Yixing, going back and forth between the palace and his residence daily.

Sometime in late May, three months since Sowon was born, Kyungsoo and Yixing went out to South Tera, the bar they used to frequent together to finally celebrate Kyungsoo returning home after all the mess that had followed.

It was also actually Kyungsoo’s first time since then where he was actually free to do as he pleased. But yet, at their usual table in the dimly lit section of the bar’s mezzanine floor, Kyungsoo found himself blankly staring into space instead of participating in the conversation.

Even Kyungsoo’s mug of beer was left virtually untouched on the wooden tabletop.

“Come on, drink up,” Baekhyun nudged, elbowing Kyungsoo who was sitting beside him.

“Yeah, you look a bit worried. Is there anything wrong?” Yixing asked, sitting on the opposite side from Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, “Do you not like South Tera’s famous draft beer anymore?”

“It’s not that-,” Kyungsoo muttered lowly under his breath.

“Oh,” Baekhyun exclaimed, “Did the taste change? I mean, I really didn’t notice. Yixing and I only went here maybe once or two times at most while you weren’t around.”

Kyungsoo snickered a bit when he heard that although his expression remained mostly unchanged, “Weren’t you two separated and had to work in two different posts while I was in Zerura?”

Yixing nodded, “While I was patrolling the northern border in the rough mountains, Baekhyun here got to sit comfortably in an office and do paperwork.”

“I still come to visit you every other weekend even so far up North,” Baekhyun interjected, “I didn’t forget about you, okay? And besides, you also get some time off to come down to Verndina.”

“I’m glad to hear you two still got to meet each other even then,” Kyungsoo mentioned, resting his cheek on his palm.

“Of course,” Yixing affirmed, “Baekhyun and I would meet each other when it was possible so we could sit down together and write to you, even if we knew that someone else was writing letters on your behalf. We still hoped that they would find you.”

Baekhyun nodded, agreeing to Yixing’s words.

“About that,” Kyungsoo sighed, “I’m sorry for keeping you two worried for so long. I should have tried harder to make contact; I shouldn’t have just taken their words at face value for that. I should have done more.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Kyungsoo,” Yixing assured.

“Yeah, all is good,” Baekhyun shook Kyungsoo’s shoulder, “I mean, the three of us are safe and back here together again and you don’t have to go back to Zerura anymore. That’s all that matters now.”

“I am pleased that your mother, who was the one who sent you to Zerura, is also the one who now firmly insists that you will stay here in Vallis and not have to marry anyone for that matter,” Yixing pointed out, sipping from his beer mug.

“I was surprised by that too, to be honest,” Baekhyun revealed, “I thought she’d get angry and send you back to Zerura the moment it was known that you actually snuck back home illegally. I guess she does love and care for you indeed, doesn’t she? I mean, she seems to adore Sowon a lot too.”

“Perhaps,” Kyungsoo smiled to himself, looking down towards his lap instead.

“Speaking of which, weren’t you summoned to the palace today to meet your mother? Is that why you look so bothered by something?” Yixing assumed, “Did anything happen?”

Baekhyun waited eagerly for Kyungsoo to say something, putting a leg up on the bench they were seated on.

“No, nothing happened,” Kyungsoo denied, “She just called me in to talk about some things.”

“Then what are you worried for if nothing happened?” Baekhyun asked again out of concern.

Kyungsoo snickered to himself, moving his gaze back up towards his friends as he gripped the handle of his beer mug on the table, “She just told me the real reason as to why I was sent to Zerura to marry Chanyeol in the first place. The real reason why Chanyeol and I were even betrothed to each other in the first place.”

Baekhyun’s mouth dropped open and he whispered, “You’re saying it’s not because of political ties and relations?”

“W-what!?” Yixing was startled too and quickly lowered his voice, looking around to make sure no one was listening on their conversation.

“Well, it was information I didn’t think I’d ever need to know in my entire life since I’ve made my peace with it, but I trust you two so I’ll just go ahead and let you know anyway,” Kyungsoo told, “After Chanyeol was born, his mother was unable to give birth again due to the complications she faced during the pregnancy. Because of that, there were talks about divorce and for King Junmyeon to remarry so he could have another child because Chanyeol wasn’t really favored to inherit the throne. Junmyeon’s father, the King of Zerura at the time, had an arrangement with my grandfather to marry my mother to him.”

Baekhyun’s mouth dropped, even more, Yixing scooted closer forward over the table to listen closer. 

Kyungsoo continued, “-but my mother was in love with my father at the time. My mother was already pregnant with me and my grandfather had no choice but to let her marry my father, thus voiding the arrangement to marry her to Junmyeon.”

“Unbelievable,” Yixing mumbled quietly as he shook his head.

“That really did anger Zerura and to appease them, my mother promised to give me up for marriage to Chanyeol instead. It’s not the same thing, of course, but it was the only way to maintain the relations between our country and theirs, which was left quite frayed after my mother refused to marry Junmyeon,” Kyungsoo revealed.

“That’s,” Baekhyun paused before continuing, “-rather baffling but it makes a lot of sense especially when you told us about how Chanyeol’s parents treated him and how your mother who is usually so headstrong just bends over for Zerura easily when they asked for you.”

“I guess both Chanyeol and I were just really paying for the sins of our parents, weren’t we?” Kyungsoo shrugged, finally taking a chug down from his glass mug.

“-and you’re alright with that?” Yixing asked, “That’s rather unfair for both you and Chanyeol, isn’t it?”

“I won’t lie and say it isn’t unfair but I’ve come to terms with that,” Kyungsoo smiled, “-it doesn’t haunt me anymore and I can live with it. I’ll just have to be better than that, I suppose.”

Baekhyun and Yixing both smiled too, looking at each other, fully knowing that even if Kyungsoo would not becoming the King of Vallis, the future of their country would be in rather good hands with him around.

**

On a warm August night, about six months since Sowon was born; Kyungsoo, Yixing, and Baekhyun were already waiting at the Verndina central train station on the platform reserved for only official trains arriving and departing from there.

That evening, they were expecting the arrival of the official royal train from Zerura.

Kyungsoo glanced up at the large clock on the wall near the platform, seeing that the train would be arriving at any moment now.

It was past almost eleven at night and the last train had left some minutes earlier, leaving the train station and especially the platform- deserted. The station itself was already closed for the day but the special platform remained operational until the train from Zerura arrived.

“You think it’s delayed?” Baekhyun scrunched up his nose, looking up at the clock.

“It should be here any minute now,” Yixing had to say, looking at a pocket watch instead.

Kyungsoo did not say anything as he was distracted with his thoughts instead. He was just thinking that if it wasn’t too late when the train arrived, he could still drop by the palace and see Sowon even if she was already asleep by then.

Before Baekhyun could say anything else further, the sounds of the train whistling were heard and the platform began to vibrate slightly as the Zerurian official train approached from the distance; its distinct rufescent red color shining under the dim lighting on the tracks.

As the train slowed down when it approached the platform, the train station staff could be seen also waiting for it at the sides, ready to assist the Zerurian entourage with their luggage and post-travel routine checkup procedure of the train.

It was a little bit more after the train stopped until the doors were opened, and the first official from Zerura stepped outside onto the platform to bow and greet Kyungsoo.

The next person to step off the train was Jongdae, who also formally greeted and then bowed to Kyungsoo.

Minseok followed shortly after Jongdae, who bowed to Kyungsoo at first before he was pulled into a hug.

“I’m glad to see you again,” Kyungsoo sounded enthusiastic as he hugged Minseok, “I’m pleased to know you’ve been doing alright too as per our correspondence.”

“I am doing well indeed, your Highness,” Minseok returned the hug, patting Kyungsoo on the back; “It really is nice to get to meet you again.”

“Likewise,” Kyungsoo replied, pulling away from the hug when he saw the figure of the next person who stepped off the train.

It was Chanyeol, dressed rather simply but still formal. This was the first time Chanyeol and Kyungsoo had seen each other since March, since the few weeks where Chanyeol stayed in Vallis after the surgery.

Since then, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had only exchanged letters with each other, mostly to keep each other updated about their daughter.

“Welcome to Vallis,” Kyungsoo greeted for the sake of formality, mimicking the way Chanyeol had greeted him when he first arrived in Zerura, “I hope you do enjoy your stay here. How was your trip?”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol heaved a sigh, partly glad and disappointed at the same time, “It was alright. I mean, I am pleased to know that I have to live here for a year because I get to be with you and our daughter again. But I am not pleased that my father has sent me here to be married to you for real this time because it didn’t work the last time our parents tried to make that happen.”

Kyungsoo chuckled, easing up and dropping all the formalities to talk to Chanyeol as a friend again, “Well, there’s no written rule that says it always has to be the omega that goes and join the alpha at their home when they marry. Sometimes, it’s alright for the alpha to be the one who moves to the omega’s residence instead. Besides, you’re only going to be here for a year.”

“I am a Crown Prince, it’s different,” Chanyeol made sure to remind Kyungsoo.

“I know you are,” Kyungsoo still continued to smile, a bit delighted to see Chanyeol back at his usual demeanor.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t be making a big deal about this,” Chanyeol remembered, ruffling his hair out of habit, “-sorry about that. I won’t mess things up this time, I promise.”

“That’s alright,” Kyungsoo mentioned with ease, “We’ll have a year to get to know each other before we absolutely have to get married. We can make use of that time properly this time.”

“Oh, wait. Before I forget-” Chanyeol halted, reaching into the inner pockets of the suit he was wearing to retrieve Kyungsoo’s blue notebook which he had left because he was in a hurry to escape the palace at the time.

Kyungsoo had almost even forgotten about the notebook until Chanyeol showed it to him again.

“I brought this with me and I’m sorry that I read through it,” Chanyeol confessed, handing the book back to Kyungsoo.

“It’s fine,” Kyungsoo assured, smoothing his hand down the dyed blue leather cover.

“You know, in the book, you did mention how you would have liked the opportunity to become a King if that was possible, even if you are really fine with not getting to be one,” Chanyeol mentioned, his voice smooth and his gaze soft towards Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo’s eyes fluttered up from the book in his possession again and towards Chanyeol, “Yes, why?”

“I know you’ll make a good King if you ever were. I have faith in you,” Chanyeol declared, “-I cannot make you King of Vallis but when we get married and I become King of Zerura eventually, you’ll have the title of a King Consort. I know it’s not the same thing but I can give you that. I’ll do anything for you. Just give me the word.”

Kyungsoo smiled big and wide, his eyes almost closing when he did so, “I’ll keep that in mind. For now, let’s take the time to get to know each other better, shall we? We have a daughter to raise too.”

“Of course,” Chanyeol agreed, lowering his head slightly.

That night, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol left the train station hand in hand with each other, walking down the path that would be their new lives together for it had only just begun.

They would go on to unite both their countries in ways no one before them could ever even dream to achieve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/hajinnie)   
>  [CC](https://curiouscat.me/hajinnie)


End file.
